Leeds and Thousand Islands homeowners face modest tax increase

When Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands (TLTI) residents receive their 2025 property tax bills, they will see a modest increase of about $10 per month.

Council is set to give final approval on Monday to the township’s 2025 tax rate bylaw, which sets the rates necessary to fund municipal services for the year.

If passed, the bylaw will finalize the tax rates for various property classes, following the adoption of the township’s 2025 budget earlier this year.

The approved budget includes a total tax levy of $12,869,100, with a residential tax rate of 0.00539115. With the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville recently setting their tax rates and the province confirming the education tax rate for 2025, the township can now move forward with issuing property tax bills.

The new rates will result in an overall tax increase of 5.2 per cent compared to 2024.

For a median residential property assessed at $206,000, the total annual tax bill will rise by $116, reaching $2,355. Of this increase, $71 stems from the township’s rate change, while the remaining $45 is due to an increase in the county’s rate.

The education tax rate remains unchanged.

A key component of the bylaw is the introduction of a new property class, Aggregate Extraction (VT), which was previously categorized under the Industrial (IT) class. The provincial government has mandated a lower tax ratio for this new class in response to changes in property assessments by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC). This results in a $5,302 reduction in the township’s overall levy.

However, township officials have recommended maintaining the previously approved residential tax rate, covering the difference through a $50,000 contingency fund set aside in the 2025 budget for tax write-offs.

The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville approved the 2025 tax ratios for lower-tier municipalities on Feb. 20.

If approved on Monday, the TLTI tax rate bylaw will give municipal staff the authority to begin issuing 2025 property tax bills.