The Town of Whitby council adopted the municipality’s 2026 budget at a Special Council meeting on Nov. 27, 2025, finalizing spending and revenue plans that will raise the town’s tax levy by 3.44% next year — about $78 a year for an average home — and set service levels and capital projects for 2026. (Town materials show the adoption on the ConnectWhitby budget page; the Town site was updated Nov. 28, 2025.) The decision affects everyday services like fire, parks, waste and roads, and funds major projects already on the books.
The adopted package funds roughly $198 million in operating costs and about $62 million in capital spending, according to local reporting, and keeps projects such as the Whitby Sports Complex, a new west Whitby fire hall (and 20 new firefighters), and road work moving forward. Council and staff said inflation, population growth and provincial cost‑shifting helped push costs up, and the town pointed to $2 million in departmental reductions, a pause on new hires for 2026 and new revenue tools such as a municipal accommodation tax to help limit the hit to taxpayers. Mayor Elizabeth Roy described it as a “challenging budget year” and noted work to balance affordability with services.
How the number landed at 3.44% came through a short sequence of drafts and amendments. Staff prepared a draft with a 3.99% target, the mayor released amendments on Nov. 7 that lowered that to about 3.49% (see the mayor’s Nov. 7 statement), and council debated further amendments at the late‑night Special Council meeting before settling on the 3.44% levy change. Under Ontario’s Strong Mayors framework the mayor has limited veto power over some council amendments, but Mayor Roy confirmed she would not exercise that power, allowing the council changes to stand. Several delegations asked council to restore cuts to library and arts funding; motions to do so were put forward but failed on a 6–3 split, with Regional councillors Chris Leahy and Steve Yamada and Ward 4 Coun. Victoria Bozinovski among those voting to restore some funding.
For residents and businesses the immediate effect is a slightly higher town portion of property taxes next year and a confirmed capital plan. Town materials and local coverage translate the 3.44% levy to roughly $78 more per year on an average $503,000 home (the Town cites MPAC assessment data) and show the town’s portion of the bill rising by about 1.2%. The adopted budget now serves as Whitby’s spending guide for 2026, directing how services are delivered and which projects move ahead.
