Police funding increases regional property taxes

Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Region of Durham has announced that its 2026 budget will increase the region's property taxes by 4.8 per cent, mainly because of increases in the police budget.

The region said the tax increase will result in homeowners paying about $14 a month more on the regional portion of their tax bill, and added that approximately $10 funds police services and $4 will be invested in other essential services, including transit, housing, paramedic services and regional roads and bridges.

The region said the budget "balances delivering quality services with maintaining affordability for residents."

On the police side, the region said it will see Durham Regional Police Service add 78 uniform positions to respond to an increase in frontline work, 33 civilian support and five tactical flight officers.

The region also said it is experiencing rising costs to deliver existing services and those increased costs are compounded by economic uncertainty such as inflation and tariffs.

Regional chair John Henry described the budget as "a collective effort across departments to create a more affordable budget plan to minimize impacts on residents."