The numbers showed a stark picture at Hamilton city hall last week – local taxes are higher than average, and homeowners are fighting to keep up.

City councillors saw a pair of reports which show a struggling populace. One report shows Hamilton has higher property taxes than most other cities. Another shows an increase in properties in danger of being seized and sold because homeowners can't pay.

Coun. Maureen Wilson of Ward 1 said all this leaves her with questions — about the city falling behind in collecting arrears.

"If we're not making a dent, maybe there are other reasons," she said. "Do we know who these people are? Are they families? Maybe we're not making a dent because there are other factors."

Overall, Hamilton's taxes are point six per cent higher than the average among 20 Ontario cities with populations greater than 100,000. Tax rates here, for example, are higher than in Toronto, Burlington, Kitchener or Oakville.

(City of Hamilton)

Hamilton households, the report says, are also less able to pay their taxes. The average Hamilton household income is $93,400, while the average among the 20 cities is $108,000. Hamiltonians pay 4.6 per cent of their household income on property tax, while the other cities average four per cent.

Then, there's the arrears.

Last year, the city was chasing after $73,737,453 in unpaid property taxes. That's up from 2017, when only $68,792,042 was outstanding, or about 3.9 per cent of what Hamilton was due to collect in taxes. (The 2017 number, it's worth noting, was substantially down from 2016.)

Higher tax arrears isn't always a sign of a struggling population. Some landlords let their taxes fall behind and pay a lump sum payment later, said finance head Mike Zegarac. It's just how they budget.

(City of Hamilton)

That number also includes renters or owners who have fallen more than three months behind on their water bills, as well as outstanding bylaw infractions.

But the number of households in arrears is trending upward overall. In 2014, only 13,829 residential properties were in arrears. In 2017, it was 17,191.

That's an increase of about 3,400.