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The residential tax bill includes three different property taxes: provincial education, York Region and the Town of Aurora. Aurora’s share of the residential tax bill was 37% in 2023. This 37% was then divided up to fund the below infrastructure, programs and services.

Operating Budget: The Town’s operating budget pays for its ongoing costs for the delivery of services to its residents. Examples of these services include recreation, winter management, fire, water, wastewater and storm water collections. This budget is primarily funded from annual property tax, water, wastewater, storm water rate collections, as well as, from other user fees.

Capital Budget: The Town’s capital budget is project based and pays for the Town’s major infrastructure costs arising from the rehabilitation and replacement of existing assets and the construction or purchase of new capital assets. The capital budget also includes studies which support long-term capital planning. This budget is primarily funded from annual property tax, water, wastewater, storm water rate collections and development charge revenues.

York Region is a two tier municipality. This means that the upper-tier municipality (The Regional Municipality of York) delivers specific services for the lower-tier municipalities which includes Aurora. 

Services provided by the Town of Aurora include:

• Building Permits • Fire Services • Garbage / Recycling Pick-up • Local Roads • Libraries • Marriage Licences • Parking Permits / Restrictions • Parks and Recreation • Pet Licences • Property Taxes • Sidewalk Repair • Snow Clearing (local roads) • Streetlights • Swimming and Wading Pools • Water Distribution • Water Bill • Yard Waste Collection 

Services provided by York Region include:

• Children Services • Court Services • Economic Development • Forestry • Housing • Long-Term Care • Paramedic Services • Planning • Police Services • Public Health • Regional Roads • Social Assistance • Transit • Waste Management • Water 
  
  
  
  

Council recognizes that budget decisions made in one year may impact future budget years. To ensure open and public awareness, the Town has adopted a multi-year budgeting framework where Council approves the first year’s budget of its term and receives an accompanying forecast of the next three budgets. 

Using multi-year budgets and forecasts improves fiscal health and service delivery through:

  better coordination of budgeting and strategic priorities,

  greater certainty for departments in managing expenditures and service levels

  improved fiscal discipline of the organization

  streamlined budget reviews that focus on key changes in assumptions and the reasons driving such changes

  allowing staff to develop budgets with fixed targets in place, allowing early response to circumstances and budget constraints of such targets.

  reduces uncertainty about future year tax levies

  provides longer term outlook to outside organizations that rely upon the Town for a share of their funding, which enables them to plan and deliver their programs more effectively.