York Region's residents will see a marginal hike on their tax bills after council approved a $2.8 billion budget that includes hiring dozens of new police officers.

The 2012 business plan and budget approved by council Thursday includes $1.2 billion in new funding for capital projects and $1.6 billion to maintain and operate York Region's services.

The plan includes a 1.8-per cent tax levy increase, representing a $38 increase for a home assessed at $450,000.

"The 2012 Budget provides our residents with high quality services meeting both current and future needs in areas such as transit infrastructure, community and health services, policing, water and wastewater and roads," York Region chairman Bill Fisch said in a release.

Highlights of the operating and capital budgets include:

  • $274 million for York Regional Police, including 34 new officers and 12 civilian staff, adding to more than 1,900 officers and staff
  • $175 million for YRT/Viva, to provide approximately one million hours of transit service
  • $84 million to provide Employment and Financial Support programs to economically-marginalized families and children; fund and administer approximately 6,000 social housing units; and provide financial assistance to 6,180 households through Ontario Works
  • $275 million for the construction of Spadina Subway Extension into York Region
  • $140 million for the construction of York Durham Sewage System (YDSS) Southeast Collector
  • $73 million for water and wastewater cost-shared work program (Peel Region and City of Toronto)

"The 2012 budget contains numerous service enhancements that benefit York Region residents across all nine area municipalities," David Barrow, chairman of the Region's Finance and Administration Committee, said in a release.

Plans to hire new police officers across the growing region comes at a time when the City of Toronto, its much bigger neighbour, struggled with a controversial budget that could have seen a 10 per cent cut to every department including the police force. This would have meant more than 1,000 officers cut from the force.

The region also plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to boost its hours of transit service across the region and expand Toronto's Spadina Subway into the region.

Earlier on Thursday, the region said it reached a settlement with one transit union while another union approved a new contract which could see the end to a three-month strike in the region shortly.