Halifax residents will see their municipal property tax bills rise 9.5 per cent this year, to cover a budget investing in transit and major construction projects.

On Tuesday, Halifax council passed a $1.4 billion operating budget  and capital budget of about $316 million for the 2026-27 fiscal year.

The property tax rate for the average urban homeowner was set at 0.798 per $100 of assessment, up slightly from last year’s 0.770 rate.

This means the average urban residential property assessed at $357,500 would pay $2,853 this year — up about $247, or 9.5 per cent, from last year.

The budget passed 14 votes to three, with Mayor Andy Fillmore and councillors Shawn Cleary and John Young the only votes against the budget.

Fillmore said his vote reflects what he has heard from people across Halifax in recent weeks.

“It just didn’t go far enough. People are feeling the pinch … of rising power rates, rising water rates, now rising gasoline costs,” Fillmore told reporters outside the meeting.

“It’s all landing on their tables at home, and they’re looking to us to reduce the burden on them.”

The number has come down slightly: staff originally said a 10.9 per cent increase would be needed this year.

The budget includes 10 new firefighters for Station 11 in Upper Sackville to improve response times, work on the Windsor Street exchange redevelopment, and on the future Eastern Shore Lifestyle Centre in Sheet Harbour which is expected to open next summer.

It also includes 10 new buses to fast-track the city’s new transit plan and improve some of the busiest routes.

“We need rapid, reliable and safe transit to contribute to affordability, and this budget is bringing that,” said Coun. Janet Steele during the meeting.

Council did make a slew of smaller cuts, and brought in new money in this budget by raising parking fees, starting paid parking on Saturdays in some areas, and increasing transit fares by 25 cents this fall.

Dozens of people spoke to councillors on the budget committee during public participation over the past few months, with many people urging councillors to keep taxes as low as possible. Rental Housing Providers Nova Scotia, who represent most landlords across the city, said any increases would be passed along to tenants.

But other residents said they were ready to pay more taxes for services that could improve their quality of life, especially if transit improves enough to reduce the need for a car.

Multiple councillors said while there may be things they would change in an ideal world, they had robust discussions about each line of the budget and stood by the final result.

“We’re trying to position HRM as a community to choose to live in, and so that means necessary investments that we need to make,” said Coun. Jean-St.Amand.

“It’s about fair taxes, not the lowest taxes.”

The staff report on the budget said this is “one of the most financially sustainable budgets” Halifax has ever prepared, thanks to additions to reserve accounts, and controlling debt payment costs to make sure future bills do not keep climbing.

When looking at the other mandatory rates on the property tax bill, including provincial education and Halifax Water charges, the total bill for an average urban home will rise 7.5 per cent over last year, or $284.

That will bring the total average bill from $3,774 to $4,058.

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