Average tax hike set at 2.5%: city hall digest

Council has signed off on a 2019 budget that means a 2.5 per cent tax hike for the average Hamilton property owner. That hike translates into $88 extra on the bill of the owner of a property assessed at $358,600. Add another $32 in water and sewer rates in 2019, too. Mayor Fred Eisenberger called it a "reasonable, respectful" budget that leaves the city with one of the smallest average tax hikes among comparable cities in the greater GTA. The budget includes extra money to expand HSR bus frequency in the lower city and on the Mountain, and also bumps up pay to $15.85 an hour for city crossing guards.