Taxes are going up for many in the city of St. John’s in 2022 as the city brings down its $319-million budget today.

Mil rates in the capital city are going up by 0.6 mils for residential properties and 0.8 for commercial.

That means the mil rate for residential and commercial property owners, with water and sewer services, will be increasing to 8.3 mils and 26.9 mils respectively. Those rates will differ if you don’t have both water and sewer service.

As a result, according to the city, 81 per cent of residential owners will see an increase of $10 or less a month, and 79 per cent of commercial owners will see a 5 per cent or less increase in annual taxes. Some property owners could even see decreases in their taxes.

The water tax is also going up slightly, from $620 per unit to $625.

The city is also staring down a $13-million deficit. About $3 million of that is due to decreased property values, with the rest attributed to increased expenditures.

In addition to the tax increases, the city has approved $11.6 million in surpluses from previous years to pay down the debt.

Other budget highlights include $510,000 for a third shift in sidewalk snowclearing, $445,000 for the Canada Summer Games in 2025, and money for the 2022 pedestrian mall.