Property Taxes

The Infrastructure Challenge

Ontario’s municipalities are responsible for maintaining nearly $1 trillion in public infrastructure, including roads, bridges, water and wastewater systems, stormwater infrastructure, recreation facilities, housing and municipal buildings. The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) estimates that municipalities are facing $250–$290 billion in capital investment needs over the next 10 years, including approximately $100 billion required to support growth. AMO has also estimated that an additional $52 billion is needed simply to bring existing municipal infrastructure into a state of good repair. Municipalities cannot reasonably carry this enormous burden through property taxes alone. That is why responsible municipal leadership means finding efficiencies and protecting affordability while also securing provincial and federal funding, planning properly for growth, and maintaining the infrastructure residents depend on. Lower taxes should never mean simply postponing today's responsibilities and leaving tomorrow's bill to the next generation.

First: How is your property tax calculated?

Your property taxes are based on the assessed value and classification of your property.

MPAC—the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation—is responsible for assessing properties in Ontario.

MPAC has not reevaluated since 2016, therefore the province is still using valuation from 10 years ago.

The applicable tax rates are then applied to your assessment.

For 2026, the residential tax rate in Clarence-Rockland consists of three components:

Where it goes

2026 residential rate

These are combined to determine the property-tax amount on your bill.

Clarence-Rockland

0.00874797

UCPR

0.00502406

School boards

0.00153000

Based on an estimate,
where does a $3,500 property-tax bill go, for example

Recipient

Approx. %

Approx. amount

City of Clarence-Rockland

57.2%

$2,002

UCPR

32.8%

$1,148

School boards

10.0%

$350

Total

100%

$3,500

That means approximately 43% of the property-tax amount does not go to Clarence-Rockland.

It goes to the UCPR and school boards.

That's an important fact when discussing municipal taxation.

Based on an estimate,
where does a $3,500 property-tax bill go, for example

Recipient	Approx. %	Approx. amount
City of Clarence-Rockland	57.2%	$2,002
UCPR	32.8%	$1,148
School boards	10.0%	$350
Total	100%	$3,500

That means approximately 43% of the property-tax amount does not go to Clarence-Rockland.

It goes to the UCPR and school boards.

That's an important fact when discussing municipal taxation.

What does Clarence-Rockland's portion pay for?

The City's portion funds the local services and infrastructure that Council is responsible for. This includes things such as:

OPP Services

For 2026:

OPP contract: $4,307,372
Police Services Board: $40,500
Total policing-related budget: about $4.35 million

Fire services — Fire protection and emergency response.
Local roads — Construction, maintenance, repairs, sidewalks and other local transportation infrastructure.
Snow clearing — Winter maintenance of municipal roads and sidewalks.
Parks and recreation — Parks, recreational facilities, programs (Children programs etc.) and related services.
Libraries — Library operations and services.
Municipal facilities — City buildings and facilities need to be operated, maintained and eventually repaired or replaced.
Water and wastewater infrastructure — The City must maintain an enormous network of pipes, pumping stations, treatment infrastructure and other assets.
Waste services — The City provides waste-management services, although waste is funded through a separate charge, rather than simply being another percentage of the general property-tax rate.
Municipal administration — Finance, human resources, IT, planning, clerks, customer service, bylaw enforcement and other municipal operations.

What does UCPR do?

The United Counties of Prescott and Russell is a separate level of municipal government.

UCPR provides regional services that Clarence-Rockland does not provide directly.

Your UCPR tax dollars help fund:

Paramedic services — Ambulances, paramedics, emergency medical response and related regional services.
County roads — UCPR maintains approximately 600 km of county roads, along with bridges and culverts throughout Prescott-Russell. This is why it's important to know whether the road you're talking about belongs to the City or the County.
Social housing — UCPR is the region's designated housing service manager and provides social-housing and housing-related programs.
Ontario Works — The United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) provides a range of social programs to residents across the region, including Clarence-Rockland:

Ontario Works — financial and employment assistance
Housing Services — social housing, rent subsidies and housing allowances
Homelessness Prevention — assistance for people who are homeless or at risk of losing their housing
Child Care Services — licensed child care, fee subsidies and support for child-care providers
EarlyON Child and Family Centres — programs and resources for young children and their families
Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) — administration of the reduced-fee child-care program
Inclusion Services — support for children with special needs
Affordable and Adapted Housing — housing programs designed to meet specific accessibility and affordability needs

Long-term care — UCPR operates the Prescott-Russell Residence.
Regional planning — UCPR has regional land-use planning responsibilities.
Larose Forest — Larose Forest is a UCPR responsibility.
Emergency management and 9-1-1 — UCPR has regional responsibilities related to emergency management and 9-1-1.
Economic development — UCPR also provides regional economic-development and entrepreneurship support. These are not Clarence-Rockland services, they're UCPR responsibilities—and that's why residents pay a UCPR portion of their property taxes.

What about the school boards?

A portion of your property taxes are collected for education.

That money doesn't become City revenue. The City collects the education portion and remits it to the appropriate school boards.

What about garbage?

This is another important distinction.

Clarence-Rockland has a separate waste-management charge.

For 2026, the residential waste-management rate is approximately:

$240 per residential. This is not simply a percentage of your property-tax rate.

It is a separate charge intended to fund waste-management services.

What about water and sewer?

Water and wastewater are also different from the general property-tax levy.

They have their own rates and charges. A resident's overall municipal bill can include:

Property taxes

→ City
→ UCPR
→ School boards

PLUS

Waste charge

PLUS

Water and sewer charges

That's why simply looking at the total amount on a bill and calling all of it "City taxes" can be misleading.

What about the City's $40.1 million capital budget?

This is another area where terminology matters.

The approximately $40.1 million 2026 capital budget is NOT $40.1 million of discretionary spending.

Capital spending is investment in things such as roads, buildings, water infrastructure, wastewater infrastructure and other long-term assets.

The 2026 capital program includes major projects such as:

$15 million — St-Jean Street reconstruction, including roundabouts and watermain/sewer extensions
$6.4 million — land acquisition and design for the future Sports Centre
$2.6 million — wastewater treatment plant upgrade
$2 million — new forcemain for Pump Station #6
$2.7 million — Road Improvement Program

The City describes its capital program as supporting growth, repairs and maintenance.

And there is another important consideration: the 2026 budget identified approximately $59 million in previously approved capital funds that had not yet been spent.

Those projects don't simply disappear because a new Council wants to reduce taxes.

Are all City expenditures discretionary?

No.

This is one of the biggest misconceptions about municipal budgets.

Some expenses are effectively committed because of:

Existing contracts
Collective agreements
Employee compensation and benefits
Debt payments
Legislated responsibilities
Required contributions
Essential infrastructure
Existing service obligations
Previously approved projects
Operating costs required to keep facilities and systems functioning

That doesn't mean Council has zero control over these costs. Council can make decisions about efficiency, service levels, timing, procurement, staffing and future commitments.

But you can't simply erase every expense with a stroke of a pen.

So when someone says, "Taxes are too high"...

That's a legitimate political opinion. But it's only the beginning of the conversation.

The important question is:

"What would you cut?"

Because there are essentially three ways to reduce the amount being raised through property taxes:

Spend less — Reduce services, programs, grants, projects or other expenditures.
Find efficiencies — Deliver the same service for less money through procurement, technology, process improvements, partnerships or other efficiencies.
Find other revenue — Increase user fees, generate additional revenues, obtain grants or use other non-tax sources of funding.

If you want lower taxes, what could you cut?

This is where residents deserve a specific answer, not just a slogan.

Here are examples of choices a Council could consider:

🛣️ Delay road projects

Result: Roads may be repaired later and maintenance needs may increase and will cost you more tomorrow.

❄️ Reduce snow-clearing service levels

Result: Roads or sidewalks could take longer to clear

🌳 Reduce parks maintenance

Result: Less frequent grass cutting, landscaping or facility maintenance.

🏊 Reduce recreation programs

Result: Fewer children’s programs, reduced hours or fewer opportunities for residents.

🏢 Reduce facility operating hours

Result: Lower operating costs, but less access for residents.

🎪 Reduce community events

Result: Less municipal spending on events and programming.

🤝 Reduce discretionary grants

Result: Local organizations receive less financial support.

🏗️ Delay capital investments

Result: Lower spending today, but potentially higher costs later and continued pressure on aging infrastructure.

💰 Increase user fees

Result: Property taxes may be lower, but the people who use the service pay more directly.

🏦 Use reserves

Result: Taxes can potentially be reduced in the short term, but reserves are depleted and may be needed for future emergencies or projects.

🚧 Reduce the pace of infrastructure investment

Result: Less spending today, but infrastructure needs don't disappear—they are deferred.

The question every taxpayer should ask
when someone promises: "I will lower your taxes."

Ask:

By how much?
What exactly will you cut?
Which services will residents receive less of?
Which projects will be delayed and what are the inflationary costs down the road ?
Which grants or programs will disappear?
Will user fees increase?
Will infrastructure maintenance be deferred?
And is the proposed reduction actually within the City's control?

Those are fair questions. Because responsible municipal government isn't about spending as much as possible, but it also isn't about cutting blindly. It is about finding the right balance between affordability, service levels, infrastructure, growth and long-term financial sustainability which our government has done for the past four years.

A tax bill is more than a number. It's a reflection of the services, infrastructure and responsibilities we choose to fund. And if we want to change that number, residents deserve to know exactly what changes come with it.

That's what an honest conversation about taxes looks like.