Another year, another round of budget talks in Barrie, where homeowners watch the numbers edge higher, quietly calculating what will be left in their pockets once city hall has had its say.
For 2026, Barrie’s proposed budget puts residents at the centre of a fiscal balancing act. The city’s operating budget covers more than 60 services—everything from firefighting and snow clearing to public transit and waste collection. This year, council approved a base operating budget with gross expenditures of $355.6 million and a net property tax levy requirement of $214.5 million. That figure rises with a two per cent infrastructure levy, designed to tackle the city’s growing need for repairs and replacements to roads, pipes, and stormwater systems.
What does this mean for the average homeowner? An extra $151 annually—$104 from the infrastructure levy and $47 from higher water and sewer rates, bringing the combined utility bill for a typical household to $1,082. The property tax rate for city operations remains flat for the fourth consecutive year, but that’s only part of the story. Much of the final tax burden depends on external service partners, including the Barrie Police Services Board and the County of Simcoe, whose budgets are still in the works. As Mayor Alex Nuttall cautioned, “I think that there is obviously more difficult budget invoices and requests coming in.”
While the city strives to keep taxes in check, maintaining service levels grows more expensive. A 2.38 per cent increase in the tax rate is largely offset by anticipated tax assessment growth and dividends from Barrie Hydro Holdings. Still, the infrastructure gap looms: with an annual shortfall of $111.8 million, the city’s ability to replace aging assets lags far behind their replacement value of $208.5 million.
Big-ticket capital projects on the horizon include wastewater treatment upgrades, culvert expansions, and major road improvements. With council set to finalize service partner budgets at a series of meetings in November and December, the final numbers—and their impact on household finances—remain in flux. For now, Barrie’s 2026 budget is a study in careful compromise, where every dollar counts and each decision echoes across kitchen tables citywide.
References:
Wonder where your tax dollars go in Barrie? Here’s an early look
Wonder where your tax dollars go in Barrie? Here’s an early look
