Toronto city council is meeting today to consider the 2020 capital and operating budgets, and property tax increases for the year have officially been approved. 

In a vote of 21 to three, council voted to adopt Toronto’s 2020 property tax rates which will see the average homeowner pay about $128 more for a home priced at $703,232. 

The official property tax rates include a residential increase of 2 per cent for the operating budget and 1.5 per cent for the city building fund — a levy implemented three years ago to help support new transit and housing initiatives across Toronto. 

Here are your official 2020 property tax increases. pic.twitter.com/JLDGd0SmYQ

— Matt Elliott (@GraphicMatt) February 19, 2020

With these approved increases, according to the Toronto Star, the average residential property tax bill will be $3,141 in 2020. 

So here, officially, is Toronto’s property tax hike for 2020. #topoli pic.twitter.com/ZiMpywux7P

— David Rider (@dmrider) February 19, 2020

"With the tax rates set, the largest chunk of city revenue is locked in," journalist Matt Elliott wrote on Twitter earlier today.  

According to Toronto Star journalist David Rider, Toronto council sets the property tax rate before deciding what gets funded by how much. On Twitter, he said they used to debate individual items and then the tax hike determined by total spending, but this changed under Rob Ford.

Rider also tweeted that Mayor John Tory said Toronto residents have accepted the bigger tax hike — which he originally proposed several months ago — because it’s a reasonable increase and council has clearly indicated where the money will go.