Mississauga council has passed its 2020 budget, with a spending increase of $26.3 million over last year.

For a residence assessed at $688,000, the increase works out to an $88 hike, or 1.6 per cent, of the Mississauga portion of property taxes. Combined with the Peel Region increase of 1.64 per cent, or $90, residential property taxes in Mississauga are slated to go up 3.24 per cent.

On a residence assessed at $688,000, the property increase would come in around $178.

According to the city’s budget book, the increases will help pay for various service enhancements such as hiring 22 new transit operators and adding 32,600 more MiWay service hours.

Ward 2 Coun. Karen Ras moved a motion at the Jan. 22 council meeting that would have lowered the blended city and regional increase to 2.9 per cent from 3.24 per cent.

Ras suggested finding $1.3 million in savings in the city’s new initiatives and moving $3 million from the Mississauga’s 2019 surplus funds to reduce the tax burden.

"I believe sometimes a surplus is there for a reason, which is in the years that are tough it's there to dip into," she said.

Ward 5 Coun. Carolyn Parrish said Mississauga staff had presented a good budget, and that savings should have been found at the Region of Peel level, "where the big bucks are being wasted."

"I'm not voting for any more reductions because it's token," she said. "It's like we've got a magical three per cent, it's bothering people, so let’s get to 2.9. It's ridiculous."

City manager Janice Baker told council that the surplus is not a “rainy day fund” and the costs for services are going up each year.