Your Information Source on the 2026
Town of Lincoln Budget

The Town’s annual budget is built around what matters most to you. Town staff work year-round to plan a budget that reflects your priorities and delivers the services and programs you rely on.

Your input plays a vital role in shaping these decisions — helping us invest where it counts and build a stronger community, together. Many factors affect the Town’s budget, and Town staff continually balance necessary costs and priorities while maintaining the service levels that our community expects.

Stay Connected

Join us at an upcoming Budget meeting - see schedule below and at right. You can also follow these meetings on the Town of Lincoln's YouTube Channel.

(Live feeds for meetings become active a few minutes before the scheduled start time of the meeting.)

2025-26 Council Budget Meetings and Resources

Stay tuned for updates.

Council (Budget Meeting – Capital Budget) - Nov. 5, 2025: Agenda | Video

Council (Budget Meeting – Operating Budget) - Nov. 12, 2025: Agenda

Council (Budget Meeting – Amendment Meeting (if required)) – Nov 24, 2025

Budget Adopted after November 24 if there are no amendments.

Mayor’s 2026 Budget

In alignment with strong mayor powers which the Ontario Government granted to the Town of Lincoln on May 1, 2025, Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton formally began the 2026 Budget Process on October 28, 2025.

The Budget Deliberation period runs from October 28 to November 24, 2025. Councillors may propose amendments to the budget during this time period.

If there are no amendments, the budget would be deemed adopted after November 24, 2025, as provided by the Mayor.

Capital and Operating Budgets

Each year, the Town of Lincoln creates an operating budget, a capital budget, as well as a 10-year capital forecast.

What's the difference between capital and operating budgets?

Capital Budget:

This budget pertains to large-scale investments in tangible amenities, facilities and infrastructure. Funding for the Capital Budget is drawn in part from tax revenues, alongside money drawn from reserves, debentures, development charges, and other funding sources such as grants from federal and provincial governments.

Examples of Capital Budget items:

• Road resurfacing and replacement
• Major upgrades or renewal of facilities
• Construction of parks and amenities

Operating Budget:

The Operating Budget covers the day-to-day operations of the Town, things like staffing, materials for repairs, electricity to keep the lights on, programs and more. This budget is primarily funded by the Town’s portion of municipal property tax bills and revenues collected through Town services and programs. It is the operating budget, as adopted by Council, that sets the Town’s portion of the tax rate.

Examples of operating budget items:

• Salaries and benefits
• Recreation programs
• Facility maintenance
• Administrative services
• Utilities and materials

Rate Supported Budgets:

There is a rather unique budget separate from the operating and capital budgets. These are water and wastewater. The budget, including their operating and capital costs, are covered directly by revenues generated through their related services.

The Water / Wastewater Budget funds the Town’s water delivery and wastewater (sewer) systems through revenues generated by water / wastewater bills.

Taxes: A Three-Way Split

Property taxes as a whole are made up of three individual pieces: the Town portion, the Region portion, and the Province’s education portion.The Town collects the property taxes for all three and then pays the Region and the School Board portions to them, which they use to deliver their services.

In 2025, this means for the average residential home with an assessed value of $385,000, property taxes paid would be approximately $5,977;

• $2,234 retained by the Town to pay for its programs and services
• $3,154 collected on behalf of Niagara Region and paid to the Region
• $289 collected on behalf of the School Boards and paid to the School Boards

Town:

The Town’s portion, which pays for Town of Lincoln’s operations, services and assets, is dependent on the amount adopted by Council in the operating budget. The more spent on the operating budget the higher the Town’s portion of the finalized tax rate. The Town of Lincoln’s portion of the tax bill is used to deliver a number of services that make Lincoln a place to grow, prosper and belong.

Region:

The Region portion pays for Niagara Region operations, services and assets such as Public Health, waste management, police, regional roads, and the Niagara Region Transit System. The Region’s tax rate is dependent on the budgetary deliberations of Regional Council.

Education:

The education portion is set and administered by the Province of Ontario and helps to pay for public education.

MPAC Property Assessment

The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) collects data about properties across Ontario and is responsible for annual property assessments.

For more information on property assessment, including how various properties are assessed, current calculations, and other FAQ, visit: Municipal Sector Resources | MPAC

The Finalized Rate:

Once all three levels of government have set their rates, they are combined into one finalized rate. That rate is then calculated against the assessed value of a home or property to generate a total of taxes owed on the property for the year.

Once the amount owed has been calculated, the Town of Lincoln administers billings and collections for all properties within its borders. Taxes are collected by the Town and then divided between the Town, Region and Province.

For more information on taxes, including information on where taxes go, and how they are calculated, see our 2025 Property Tax Brochure.

Thank you to everyone who shared your thoughts and priorities for the 2026 Town of Lincoln Budget. If you have any questions, please contact one of the project leads noted on the right side of this page.

Completed Engagement Activities

Please review the ways we collected your thoughts and priorities for the 2026 Town of Lincoln Budget!