 By Pepper Parr
November 25th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Eric Stern, the spokesperson for BRAG (Burlington Residents Action Group, delegated to City Council this morning.
In most cases, not all, Council has very little to say in response to a delegation – this morning – it was different.
After saying: Good morning and thank you for your time today, Stern levelled a couple of concerns:
I have to say I was surprised to see Burlington get out early again this year with the fictional “4.97%” overall tax increase.
It was interesting to watch Mr. Basit present a 4.97% on November 4th when the Halton Police budget had been made public on October 30th. Did Mr. Basit knowingly misrepresent the truth?
On November 18th I listened to Leah Bortolotti talk about 6.7 million people visiting the website annually. I did another double-take. For a dose of reality, only 200,000 people live in Burlington. Are we expected to believe that every person in Burlington visits the website an average of 33 times a year? How many of these visits are to book the kids into a swim class? More confusing is that the budget document states on page 48 “our website—with its 1.5 million annual users”.
When he had completed his delegation there were questions and some animated responses:
 Councillor Nisan: We have a transit master plan that is currently inactive. Do you not want that transit plan? Or what’s the story? Councilor Nissan: Your last item in your, we’ll call it a report, or your submission, said that the transit master plan should be released before taxes are increased in relation to transit. We have a transit master plan that is currently inactive. Do you not want that transit plan? Or what’s the story?
Stern: Well, if you’re going to change it, which we would expect with a new master plan, then shouldn’t the budget, wait for the Master Plan, or shouldn’t the master plan be released before the budget? It’s not a necessity to have a budget in place until February 1. We have the flood plan coming out, what later today, and the transit master plan coming out in a few weeks. So you put the car before the horse?
Nisan: I’ll just clarify my question. So our transit master plan goes until 2025 this is the last year of that master plan. Are you suggesting that we finish a new master plan before we approve the budget for what we already approved in the last master plan?
Stern: That is the suggestion that you get the master plan out first and then do the budgeting around it. Y
Councilor Sherman: I want to thank you for your delegation, but also particularly for the correspondence with all the analysis that you and you have done, or I guess a few of you have done, yes, it was very thorough. It had a lot of good analysis in there.
Would you be interested in having some response from the city with respect to the analysis you did?
That offer is close to a first for this Council – a citizen asks for something and gets a positive response.
Stern: Yes, we’re interested. This is an ongoing process, so we’ll just raise the same issues again next year. If the city wants to provide clarity or an explanation, then maybe we won’t have to raise them, or maybe we’ll see it differently than you do.
Sharman: I will ask staff about that later, and I’m sure we’ll get you the answers.
Later in the meeting when questions are put to staff Sharman asked the Chief Financial Officer:
With respect to getting back to the to residents and their feedback – there are a lot of questions in there. Could you just confirm that you will respond to each question in line so that they have an answer to this community group for each of those questions.
So will you be able to do that for this, for the for this input, in particular through
Craig Millar: Through you to the Chair: Yes, that’s that’s our intent, to go through each one of the questions and provide answers.
Chair Bentivegna: We have a question from Councilor Kerns. So looking at this item that’s been provided in your correspondence, which is the list of the of the items that you’d like additional investigation on, and recognizing that this is, in fact, the mayor’s budget. What engagement have you had with the mayor’s office related to these items as they relate to the budget?
 There wasn’t really any time in this whole process to do a really deep dive into the data. Stern: Well, there wasn’t really any time in this whole process, because the budget action reviews were submitted two weeks after the budget was released. It takes a group of us to split it up to roughly 80 pages each. We went and identified things we could xxx
Kearns: You reviewed the budget action items you endorsed, I believe is the correct word, the budget.
Stern: No we haven’t. There’s just no time in this process for residents to meaningfully engage. And I’m really emphasizing the word meaningfully.
Kearns: A follow-up question. What you would like to see then? A draft budget released first, so we don’t have to challenge the clock of the statutory time to turn this around, which is more detailed, in order for people to have more meaningful engagement.
Stern: That’s right, that’s identical I’d like to see what Oakville does happen in Burlington?
Kearns: My second question is this, in the correspondence that you’ve provided, it doesn’t necessarily equate to $1 value in the final column on every single item, is the concern more with accountability, transparency and return on investment and alignment with business plans? Or is it pure hard savings or both?
Stern: The concern largely is with accountability, certainly. Speaking for myself, not for the group. I’ve said this before – the only reason I’m here is because 4.97 is meaningless. 4.99 last year was meaningless. It was 6.58 I think, at the end of the day in 2024 on our tax bills. So you guys come out with this obviously skewed lower number for your own benefit, and then we’re somehow supposed to engage, and then we get a dog and pony show with what a 10-page booklet with no details.
You know, transit is going to cost pulling numbers out of my hat, but it is going to cost $17 million do you agree? How are we supposed to engage with that?
 Eric Stern: It’s all about clarity, honesty, fairness. It’s all about clarity, honesty, fairness. We’re all adults. Nobody’s jumping up and down and screaming that everybody has to be fired at City Hall and things like that. We recognize that Burlington has great services, but we want to understand what’s happening with our money, and it’s becoming a lot of money over the years, right? $500 million.
Kearns: Thank you, Eric. Maybe our themes next year will be clarity, transparency and honesty.
Mayor Meed Ward did not attend the Council meeting – she attended the Premier’s event at Joseph Brant Hospital – where she didn’t get to say a word. Had she been at Council Stern may not have gotten away with some of his comments.
The Complete Stern Delegation
“Stop the 7.5% Burlington Property Tax Increase” petition has been presented to council. Twelve hundred and forty-seven people signed the petition asking for a zero percent tax increase. The multi-year forecast called for 8.9%, by asking for zero we were hoping to meet somewhere in the middle, at 4.4%, oh well.
I have to say I was surprised to see Burlington get out early again this year with the fictional “4.97%” overall tax increase.
It was interesting to watch Mr. Basit present a 4.97% on November 4th when the Halton Police budget had been made public on October 30th. Did Mr. Basit knowingly misrepresent the truth?
On November 18th I listened to Leah Bortolotti talk about 6.7 million people visiting the website annually. I did another double-take. For a dose of reality, only 200,000 people live in Burlington. Are we expected to believe that every person in Burlington visits the website an average of 33 times a year? How many of these visits are to book the kids into a swim class? More confusing is that the budget document states on page 48 “our website—with its 1.5 million annual users”.
You have approved $148,000 for an SEO Marketing position. What is the payback?
Will there be a staff reduction in Service Burlington because people can find information themselves? Will there be KPIs to monitor this or is this just another overhead cost?
What residents need is information, not marketing spin, Google can make that information searchable. Adding a web marketing SEO position will slow down the posting of information making that information less accessible to taxpayers. Do you remember the taxpayers? The people who pay for this.
The mayor talks about training bus drivers and then those drivers take jobs in other cities as a justification for higher pay. This statement is not supported by the 5.3% turnover number presented on November 4th. A rate of 5.3% is lower than any private sector group except for heads of organizations and executives at 3.8%. This indicates the city has the right mix of salary, benefits and working conditions. An average, across-the-board, salary increase of 4.58% when inflation is 2.5% sounds high.
My theme today is clarity. Residents deserve factual information, clearly presented on the city’s website, by staff and the council, without the deft hand of a communications department spinning that information for the benefit of our elected representatives and city staff. I resent being taxed to pay for information to be marketed to me.
 Eric Stern wants a draft budget well ahead of Mayor’s budget so the community has an opportunity to comment. BRAG earned the right to that kind of document next year. Looking ahead to 2026, what considerations are being made for a conservative Federal government and severe cuts to the housing accelerator fund? Much of the expected $21,000,000 may evaporate.
In terms of provincial funding, what happens if the city does not meet its housing targets and no provincial funds are available?
Burlington is building out community centers, transit, etc. for people who may or may not move into the community. What happens if the builders don’t build and the people don’t materialize? Is it time for more prudent cost controls?
The Burlington Residents’ Action Group submitted to this council, in writing, 14 pages of possible cost savings and economies of scale that the city could consider.
I’ve watched many council meetings, people who ask for money often receive money, and people who ask for cuts often receive nothing.
Why are lower tax increases important?
Lower increases leave people with more money for heat pumps and EVs.
Lower increases reduce renovictions by landlords who, through rent control, can only increase rents by 2.5%. This will reduce homelessness and help to “solve the crisis”.
Lower increases leave more money in people’s pockets, reducing food bank visits and crime, and lower the overall cost of policing.
I’ll conclude with, Your Worship, you win, for now, you hold all the cards, residents are not given enough time to review the budget, the budget does not include explanations for the programs, or what the return on the “investment” will be, and requests for details go unanswered.
Congratulations on passing another huge budget increase without the community understanding what the percentage is or what the dollars are for!
By Pepper Parr
November 19th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Council spent all of yesterday deciding what could be cut from the budget and what couldn’t be cut. The 22 item list of possible cuts didn’t fare all that well. They kept the big items, including money for a park in Councillor Sharman’s ward.
The budget at the end of the meeting is set out below:
The seven members of Burlington City Council will take part in a Regional Council meeting on Wednesday where they will decide on how much money the Region needs to get through the next fiscal year. The Police Services Board has asked for an increase of 13% which is going to work its way to the Burlington budget.
Council will meet on the 25th – which is when you get to hear the good news.
Later today we will report on how council worked its way through the proposed amendments. They didn’t save a dime. They came close to changing some of the leaf removal program. THAT would have saved $250,000 had it passed.
 By Staff
October 29th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Their first really sold kick at the 2025 budget is concise and direct. BRAG – Burlington Residents’ Action Committee picks it’s way through the 2025 Budget showing a significant number of errors in mathematics.
 BRAG member Eric Stern and the rest of the team are going over the budget with a fine tooth comb – lots of cooties. BRAG Budget Summary
Highlights:
Page 17 shows that the “Net City Tax Levy” is increasing by 8.3%.
Page 27 shows that Burlington’s portion of our tax bill is increasing by 7.5%.
Why is spending increasing 8.3% and property taxes 7.5%? We believe the difference is being made up for by property tax revenue from the new homes and condos that will start paying taxes in 2025. So far, we have not been able to find an explanation for this difference in the budget document.
The number of new full-time employees the city will be hiring in 2025 is 29, a 2.5% increase in full-time head count.
The average salary increase, for existing full-time employees, 2024 to 2025, appears to be 5%. The Bank of Canada is expecting inflation to be in the 2% range in 2025.[I] We’ll have to wait for the Sunshine list to be published in 2025 to see what the raises were like following 2024’s 10.21% budget increase.
Pages 9 and 10
These pages show selected results from the online survey conducted by the city.
This quote is from the survey: “As we plan this year’s budget, we’re facing inflation, much like our residents and local businesses. Our 2025 forecast predicts a total tax increase of 5.5%, with 1% for Halton Region services, 4.5% for Burlington services, and no change for education.”
Would the results have been different if the city had clearly stated a budget increase of 8.3%?
Page 21
Some of the calculations on this page have errors.
Looking at the first box on the right, the numbers shown add up to 142,457 not 140,514,298. Residents should not have to make assumptions about the numbers in the budget but, if we assume the city meant 140,514, meaning they simply forgot to convert the number to thousands, there is still a difference of $1,943,000 when dealing with the actual numbers ($142,457,000 – $140,514,298).
Looking at the middle box on the right. The numbers add up to 37,695, not the 37,191,580 shown. If we again assume the number should be in thousands at 37,191, the difference is still $504,000 (in real terms).
The bottom box is in the other benefits and allowances section. The numbers add up to 1,325. At least the difference, after making assumptions, is only about $7,000.
 When you add up the numbers, from the city, in the total budget column the total comes to $179,023,828 not the $181,476,000 shown in the chart. The incorrectly stated numbers in the city’s chart do not add up to the total shown in the city’s chart.
Page 24
Reserve and Reserve Funds
This chart shows the total, uncommitted, and committed reserve funds by year. Read BRAG’s comment in the blue box. Based on the information in this graph it is impossible to tell how much money is in the reserve funds.
Page 25
Reserve and Reserve Funds Continued. The committed value shown on the chart above, from page 24, for 2025 does not match the committed balance we calculate using the information provided on page 25. We took the amount in the balance column and subtracted the amount in the uncommitted balance column to calculate the committed balance. You can see the committed balances in the blue boxes.
The total committed balances on this page are $104,951,043 not the $167,000,000 shown in the chart on page 24.
What are we left with? We are left with questions.
1 – Are these errors acceptable and what other errors are in the document?
2 – Does this call into question the integrity of the entire document?
3 – This is the first detailed budget document the public has been allowed to see, based on the quality of this document public input is essential.Why were the mayor’s engagement sessions held before a draft version of the budget was released?
4 – Do residents have to cross-check every column and every total in the budget document?4 –
Under strong mayor powers this is the mayor’s budget – is she responsible and accountable?
Will bonus payments be withheld from those who signed off on this document?
You might want to consider becoming a supporting member of BRAG – they have served taxpayers well.
[i] Bank of Canada Inflation forecast – https://www.bankofcanada.ca/publications/mpr/mpr-2024-10-23/
 By Pepper Parr
October 21st, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
That long-awaited first version of the Mayor’s 2025 budget will be available on Friday, the 25th.
The document goes to a Council meeting on November 4th – which gives the public nine days to go over the document and get some sense as to what they might be facing in terms of a tax increase. It is reported to be at a pinch over 8%.
Last time we saw a budget with a significant increase 15% there were four very strong delegations – didn’t seem to make any difference. Two of the delegations heard Council say they would reach out and talk to them about some of the points made in their delegation. Both have reported that they haven’t heard a word.
This time around – it might be different.
 BRAG – Burlington Residents’ Action Group has a team of people in place who have divided up their understanding of the different sections the budget will be broken into – their task is to do the deepest dive possible into the data and be in a position to delegate with data from the document.
The public has been told that the budget document will not be a 700 + pages and that the format will be quite different. The Gazette will report on what is delivered on Friday.
Burlington has never seen anything like this in the 12 years I have been covering this Council.
Members of the BRAG the incorporated not for profit group are of the view that the numbers in the budget are “baked in” – “there won’t be much oportunity to change anything – but we are still going to do our job.”
Others in the community have given up – one “doesn’t believe this Council is going to get even close to changing until it occurs to them that they may not get re-elected – and then they will scurry about like rats leaving a sinking ship looking for some high and dry space.”
There is a protocol in place that Council will be following in order to have the budget discussions completed and a bylaw in place before the end of the year.Oct. 25
Mayor’s Proposed Budget Report will be shared with the community and posted at GetInvolvedBurlington.ca/2025budget and on the Nov. 4 Committee of the Whole agenda
 Marianne Meed Ward before she was elected Mayor Nov. 4 – Burlington Committee of the Whole
The Mayor, under Strong Mayors legislation, will present the 2025 proposed budget to Burlington City Council. City Council and the public will be given time to review the proposed budget and give the Mayor feedback. Delegates welcome. Register by noon the previous business day.
Nov. 7 – Budget Telephone Town Hall
Residents can join the call starting at 7 p.m. to ask questions about the 2025 proposed budget. The telephone town hall will be hosted by Mayor Meed Ward and run until 8:30 p.m. Visit Get Involved Burlington for details.
Nov. 18 and 21 – Budget Committee meetings
City Council amendments to the budget. Delegates welcome. Register by noon the previous business day.
Nov. 25 – Special Council Meeting
This meeting is for budget approval.
There is at least one member of Council who is not prepared to go along with what the Mayor is proposing. On Friday we will have a clearer idea on what she has in mind.
By Pepper Parr
October 4th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
 The City’s Chief Administrative Officer had said that data on just what happened during the July flood and what the costs for flood mitigation going forward might be would be presented to Council during the October cycle – that has been moved to November We learned yesterday that the reports on how the July Flooding were going to impact the 2025 budget, expected in October, will not get to Council until the November cycle of Committee of the Whole meetings.
In November the Flood Hazard Impacts and Mitigation Assessment and the July 15th storm event and response update will be presented.
This is going to take place at around the same time the Mayor will release a proposed Budget to City Council.
It is very hard to fully understand how the Mayor is going to table a report that doesn’t have all the data that is relevant.
For the past three weeks the Mayor has been meeting with citizens in each ward looking for feedback on the budget knowing that critical data is not available.
 We know that the on November 4, Mayor Meed Ward will release her proposed Budget to Burlington City Council.
On November 7, 2024 – Telephone Budget Town Hall hosted by Mayor Meed Ward – it will run from 7:00- 8:30 p.m.
Members of Council have until November 11, to propose amendments to Proposed Budget
November 18 & 21, Committee of the Whole will review of Proposed Budget amendments proposed via Motion Memorandum process
 Attendance at Mayor’s firs budget meeting was sparse – information was non existent. November 25, Council will review the Proposed Budget and at that time decide on what the tax increase for 2025 will amount to.
It is a very tight schedule that was put in place by the province when Strong Mayor powers were declared by the province.
The most essential part of the budget creation process is public engagement – with all the data being used available. This looks like another one of those situations where the city is determined to be able to say that the public was engaged, while knowing that the public did not have all the facts.
By Staff
September 18th, 202
BURLINGTON, ON
Eric Stern, president of BRAG – Burlington Residents’ Action Group, wrote about just where the draft version of the 2025 budget is;
Here is what he had to say:
The getinvolved site has a check mark next to the release of the draft summary budget.
You can see the check mark here
https://www.getinvolvedburlington.ca/2025budget
Does anyone know where the draft summary budget is?
When I asked COBY “Where is the 2025 draft summary budget”?
I got this response
“The 2025 draft summary budget for the City of Burlington can be found on the official Burlington website under the Budget section. You can access it by visiting the following link: 2025 City of Burlington Draft Summary Budget.”
The link takes me to the 2024 approved budget
“https://www.burlington.ca/en/council-and-city-administration/resources/Budget-and-Finances/Approved-Budget-Book/2024/2024-Approved-Budget-Book-00-Complete.pdf”
When you click on that url here is what you get:
This is becoming a bit of a joke – except that the budget the Mayor puts forward is not going to be a joke.
 By Ray Rivers
April 18th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Pouring over the 400 page federal 2024 budget document, one can’t help but be impressed with the breadth and scope of federal involvement in almost every facet of the lives of Canadians. It is a lot of money that gets spent by your federal government each year. This year that list of expenses is even longer thanks to the NDP demanding their pound of flesh for propping up the Liberal government.
 The photo op reminds one of two students turning in their homework. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Freeland The federal government has been forced to use the power of the purse to buy its way into areas which were once exclusively provincial. That is because the premiers of provinces like Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario are not meeting the needs and wants of their electorate. And the public doesn’t know, or even care, which government is responsible, but blame the feds if they don’t get what they want and need.”
So the feds have found their way into having to develop their own health care, dental care, pharmacare, education and child care programs. Provincial governments are involved in some of these but none of these new initiatives would be happening without federal leadership or funding. And now there is a billion dollar school food program, filling a void left open by most provinces and some parents.
 The federal government was late in getting to the point where they would play a direct role in getting housing built. The provinces left them no other option. Housing has taken a front seat in this budget as the feds have plunged headlong into dealing directly with municipalities to meet the hugely unmet demand for accommodation spaces across the country. The provinces may resent the federal intrusion into their back yard, but Canadians feel it is a federal responsibility. So it’s in the budget. Of course, cutting the bank rate, which is driving up mortgages across the country, and limiting immigration would also help solve the housing crisis.
Justin Trudeau came to power, unlike his political opponents, arguing for even more deficit financing to grow the economy. And it’s been a spotty growth record, marred by the pandemic and the acute inflationary supply shortages immediately following. Still, Canada posted one of the highest growth rates over the past couple years among the G7, though not on a per capita basis thanks to the flood of new immigration we’ve seen.
Economists these days prefer to talk about debt as a percentage of the GDP. Still, when the cost of financing the debt is more costly than what the government contributes to health care, that is troubling. Canada’s debt to GDP ratio, which is about half of that of our southern neighbours, had been slowly declining until Covid came knocking at our door. The budget predicts that ratio will get back to where it left off and continue its downward trajectory.
That will be helped by the big news in this budget that taxes are finally going up for those who can most afford them. There are about 40,000 Canadians who earn over $250,000 in capital gains and only pay income tax on half of that. The capital gains tax for those folks is rising from 50% to 67%. That is still well below the 75% rate once imposed by former PM Mulroney.
 A younger Justin Trudeau made it clear from the beginning – he was going to work for the middle class – more votes in that demographic. And why would capital gains be treated any differently from employment income – why shouldn’t it be taxed at 100% like other earned income? Capital gains, much like an inheritance or casino winnings are windfalls but they are spent and saved just like earned income. Why do we treat them as a free lunch?
Income tax rates have not been touched in this or other recent budgets. One of the first acts of the Trudeau administration was to cut taxes for the middle class, which the PM claims helped lift more than one million Canadians out of poverty. And to pay for that he created a new top federal income tax bracket of thirty three percent.
But Canada, with its publicly financed health care is still a relative tax bargain for its citizens. We still have the lowest marginal tax rate in the G7. For example, the richest Americans are taxed at 37%. Also, Canada’s corporate income tax rate is the 4th lowest in the G7 at 26.2%. And taxation of new business investment at 13%, compared to the USA at 17.8%, is the lowest in the G7.
Unquestionably this is a progressive budget and those who don’t believe in government playing a bigger support role in our lives will disapprove. Still we know from our experience with the Canada Health Act that universal publicly funding universal programs are less costly to society overall. It’s a known fact that Canadians pay something like half what Americans do for a health care system with better outcomes, despite some access issues.
So those naysayers are on the wrong side of history. As we are forced into the age of fighting to save the planet from the potential ravages of climate change we need to get used to governments playing an even bigger role. But we need to pay for what we are demanding. And making the wealthiest Canadians pay a fairer share by raising the inclusion rate on capital gains is just a start.
 Ray Rivers, a Gazette Contributing Editor, writes regularly applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was once a candidate for provincial office in Burlington. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Ray has a post graduate degree in economics that he earned at the University of Ottawa. Tweet @rayzrivers
Background links:
Budget – Debt – Highlights – More Canada – Not Less –
 By Eric Stern
April 19th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
On April 16th the federal government introduced its eighth budget. Using the term “fiscal guardrails” to describe their approach to deficit spending the Liberals plan to add another $39.8 billion to the national debt.
We have wonderful social programs and it is amazing to see this government adding to them. Canada is the only country in the world with healthcare coverage but no prescription medication coverage for people under 65 (outside of hospitals). The budget takes a tentative first step towards correcting this.
The problem with adding new social programs is that we need a fair way, for every generation, to pay for these programs.
Debt and Deficit
 Federal debt The federal debt load, the sum of all unpaid government deficits, is now around $1.2 trillion. These numbers are so big they become meaningless. Dividing $1.2 trillion by the population of the country, 40 million, we get something more meaningful. The federal government has borrowed, on behalf of each person in Canada, about $30,000. Using the same line of calculation and a population of 16 million, the Ontario government has borrowed, on behalf of each person in Ontario, about $26,850.
Adding the two totals together, a baby born today, in Ontario, owes $56,850. Is this fair to the newborn generation?
Another way to look at this problem is to compare healthcare dollars with the interest payments on the $1.2 trillion debt. The federal government will transfer, to the provinces, $49 billion for healthcare and will pay $54 billion in interest payments on the debt. If the current government, and previous governments, had actually had any fiscal guardrails, far more money would be going to healthcare, something the current generation of seniors might see as fair.
Trudeau has added more money to the total debt than all previous prime ministers combined going back to 1867. This burden will be transferred to future generations, once again calling into question the statement “Fairness for every generation”.
 The federal government has added 100,000 employees to the payroll. In 2015 there were 257,034 employees, in 2023 there were 357,247 employees. Healthcare is a provincial responsibility; the growth didn’t take place in healthcare. In spite of Trudeau promising, in 2015, to reduce the use of consultants, consulting fees have increased 60% (2015 to 2023).
The Liberals have failed to make the civil service more productive either through the use of technology or other means, and have failed to control the size of the civil service. Arrivecan is just one example. With such massive growth in both public sector employment, and in the use of consultants, there must be opportunities to reduce government spending to pay for new social programs offering true fairness for every generation.
Tax the Wealthy
In 1990 there were twelve countries in Europe with a wealth tax, today there are three. In France, between 2000 and 2012, an estimated 42,000 millionaires left the country. Over time, as wealthy people leave, tax revenues decline. France repealed their wealth tax in 2018.
While the Liberals play checkers, Canada’s millionaires and billionaires have accountants and lawyers who play chess. Can a billionaire move to the Caymen Islands, a tax haven, and fly their private jet to Toronto for meetings? Why not, Trudeau hops in a plane with less thought than the rest of put into taking an Uber.
The Fraser Institute, a conservative think tank estimates that the top 20% of Canadian income earners pay more than half of total taxes. Statements like “the wealthy must pay their fair share” may already be true. Link to the report HERE.
The 2024 Forbes list of billionaires shows there are 67 billionaires in Canada with a combined wealth of $314 billion. This is a very small number of people, I bet all 67 can fit in the Prime Minister’s jet. A tax system that encourages and allows more people to become billionaires will generate more tax revenue for all Canadians.
The change in the capital gains inclusion rate will cause real and long-term damage to our economy. Tobi Lutke, one of our billionaires and a cofounder of Shopify, posted this on “X” immediately after the budget was released. “Canada has heard rumours about innovation and is determined to leave no stone unturned in deterring it”.
 Tech companies, in particular, need venture capital funding to grow. The changes in capital gains taxation will deter venture capitalists from investing in Canada. In the US, the tax rate on capital gains is a flat 21%. We are simply not competitive. Small and medium sized businesses, in every sector, now have one more difficulty to overcome when trying to attract capital to grow. How many Canadian venture capital firms will relocate to the US and simply stop investing in Canada?
Housing Costs
Someone in the federal Liberal government fell asleep at the switch, the result is that Canada’s rate of immigration is unsustainable. Immigration is wonderful but schools, healthcare, roads, and housing need to keep up.
 Oval Court: A high rise development planned for Burlington The budget completely ignores the fact that the Liberal government created the housing shortage.
Now that the opinion polls have forced the government to wake up the Liberals really have no choice but to spend tax dollars, collected from all Canadians, to create more housing. Burlington has already received $21 million in federal housing funding and the money has gone into processes, not physical housing. I really hope this new round of federal money goes into homes instead of more photo ops to boost the Liberal party’s sagging popularity.
Is this article almost finished?
Almost.
There are many budget details still to be released. The government expects to raise $6 billion with a new digital services tax. Will this be just another tax along the lines of charging HST on top of the carbon tax? We’ll have to wait and find out.
The Liberal government has forgotten that Canada needs a vibrant and growing private sector that can be taxed, fairly, to pay for our social programs. Companies in Canada need to compete against companies around the world, employee housing costs, personal tax rates, and corporate tax rates are major factors in this competition.
Inflation is a problem for everyone, the Bank of Canada has asked all levels of government to reign in their deficit spending so that interest rates can come down. Borrowing $40 billion just pours gasoline on the inflation fire. Here’s a new slogan: Budget 2024: Un-Fairness for every generation.
I sometimes wonder if Trudeau understands the difference between a million, a billion, or a trazillion.
 Eric Stern is a Burlington resident, a retired businessman in the private sector and said to handle a pool stick better than most of the people he plays with.
 By Pepper Parr
December 16th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
On July 1st of this year the province gave many Mayors the right to use what were called Strong Mayor powers.
A Mayor does not have to use these powers, which are pretty blunt. To date Mayor Meed Ward has used the powers on 13 occasions. Numbers 4 to 8 are set out below. Numbers 1 to 3 were published earlier – a link to them is set out below. Four, five and six have the Mayor passing the bylaws – this is what a City Council does, with Strong Mayor powers a Mayor can declare a bylaw is passed – the one proviso is that the Mayor must inform the public in writing.
The two decisions that raise concerns are seven and eight. They turn the Standing Committee structure the city had on its head.
For those involved in what takes place at city hall – pay attention.
Decision # 4
 No one saw this coming. What was a victory signal the night Marianne Meed Ward was elected Mayor morphed into something few expected. Mayoral decision
Under Bill 3, the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022, which amended the Municipal Act, 2001, I Marianne Meed Ward, Mayor of the City of Burlington, hereby approve the following by-laws passed at the Burlington City Council meeting of September 26, 2023 in accordance with subsection 284.11(4)(a)(i) of the Municipal Act, 2001:
• All by-laws enacted under Motion to Approve By-laws (Council Agenda item 21)
• Confirmation By-law (Council Agenda Item 22)
Dated at Burlington, this 26th day of September 2023.
Decision # 5
Mayoral decision
Under Bill 3, the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022, which amended the Municipal Act, 2001,
I Marianne Meed Ward, Mayor of the City of Burlington, hereby approve the following by-laws passed at the Burlington City Council meeting of October 5, 2023 in accordance
with subsection 284.11(4)(a)(i) of the Municipal Act, 2001:
• All by-laws enacted under Motion to Approve By-laws (NA)
• Confirmation By-law (Council Agenda Item #9)
Dated at Burlington, this 5th day of October 2023.
Decision # 6
Mayoral decision
Under Bill 3, the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022, which amended the Municipal Act, 2001,
I Marianne Meed Ward, Mayor of the City of Burlington, hereby approve the following by-laws passed at the Burlington City Council meeting of October 17, 2023 in
accordance with subsection 284.11(4)(a)(i) of the Municipal Act, 2001:
• All by-laws enacted under Motion to Approve By-laws (Council Agenda item #21)
• Confirmation By-law (Council Agenda Item #22)
Dated at Burlington, this 17th day of October 2023.
Decision # 7
Mayoral decision
Under Bill 3, the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022, which amended the Municipal Act, 2001,
Effective January 1, 2024, in accordance with subsection 226.6 of the Act, I Marianne Meed Ward, Mayor of the City of Burlington, hereby dissolve the following standing
committees as prescribed in the City’s Procedure By-law no. 31 -2021, as amended:
• Committee of the Whole
• Community Planning , Regulation & Mobility Committee
• Environment, Infrastructure & Community Services Committee
• Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk & Accountability Committee; and
Effective January 1, 2024, in accordance with subsection 226.6 of the Act, I Marianne Meed Ward, Mayor of the City of Burlington, hereby establish a Committee of the Whole
and Budget Committee with functions assigned as follows:
Committee of the Whole
I. Responsibilities
The Committee of the Whole shall be responsible for considering all matters that do not properly fall under the jurisdiction of any other existing Standing
Committees. The Committee of the Whole agendas are divided into the following sections, with a Chair and Vice Chair assigned to each section:
Community Planning, Regulation & Mobility
The Community Planning, Regulation & Mobility section will include matters relating to:
a) Matters under the jurisdiction of Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility including; Community Planning, Building, By-law Compliance, Transit, and Transportation departments;
b) Public hearings pursuant to the Planning Act, RSO 1990, c. P.13, as amended;
c) Matters arising from the following boards and advisory committees:
Aldershot BIA
Burlington Chamber of Commerce
Burlington Downtown Business Association
Burlington Economic Development Corporation (BEDC)
Committee of Adjustment
Heritage Burlington Advisory Committee
Integrated Transportation Advisory Committee (ITAC)
Burlington Cycling Advisory Committee
Burlington Agricultural and Rural Affairs Advisory Committee (BARAAC)
Downtown Parking Advisory Committee
Property Standards Committee
Environment, Infrastructure & Community Services
The Environment, Infrastructure & Community Services section will include matters relating to:
a) Matters under the jurisdiction of the Environment, Infrastructure and
Community Services including; Engineering Services, Recreation,
Community and Culture, Roads, Parks & Forestry, and Fire, Assets and
Sustainability departments;
b) Matters arising from the following boards, committees and advisory committees:
Burlington Accessibility Advisory Committee (BMC)
Burlington Sustainable Development Committee (SOC)
Art Gallery of Burlington Board (AGB)
Burlington Mundialization Committee
Burlington Museums Board
Burlington Performing Arts Centre
Burlington Public Library Board (BPL)
Burlington Seniors’ Advisory Committee {BSAC)
Tourism Burlington
Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk & Accountability
The Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk & Accountability section will include matters relating to:
a) Matters under the jurisdiction of the City Manager’s Office, Office of the City Clerk, Corporate Communications and Engagement, Strategy, Risk
and Accountability, Customer Experience, Finance, Human Resources, Burlington Digital Services, and Corporate Legal Services departments;
b) All public meetings under the Development Charges Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 27;
c) Burlington Strategic Plan and Vision to Focus workplan;
d) Matters arising from the following board and advisory committee:
Burlington Hydro Electric Inc. (SHEi)
Burlington lnclusivity Advisory Committee (BIAC)
II. Composition
The Committee of the Whole shall be comprised of all members of Council.
Ill. Reporting
The Committee of the Whole reports directly to Council.
Budget Committee
I. Responsibilities
The Budget Committee is responsible for hearing public presentations, receiving financial reports from staff, and providing advice to the Mayor on the operating
and capital budgets; and making recommendations to Council on any operating or capital budgets in which the Mayor has a pecuniary interest.
II. Composition
The Budget Committee shall be comprised of all members of Council.
Ill. Reporting
The Budget Committee reports directly to Council.
Dated at Burlington, this 31st day of October 2023.
Decision # 8
Mayoral decision
References: MO-03-22 – Appointments to standing committees, boards , committees, agencies and Deputy Mayors , December 13, 2022 *with changes CL-18-23 – Standing Committee Structure Options, October 17, 2023 Mayoral Decision 07-23 – To establish a Committee of the Whole and Budget Committee
Under Bill 3, the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022, which amended the Municipal Act, 2001 (the Act); and Effective January 1, 2024, in accordance with subsection 226.6 of the Act, I Marianne Meed Ward, Mayor of the City of Burlington, hereby appoint the following Councillors as rotating chairs of Committee of the Whole and Budget Committee for remainder of the 2022-2026 Term of Council as established by report MO-03-22: ** Chair changes are bolded, they align the Deputy Mayor of Strategy and Budgets portfolio to the Chair of Budget, with subsequent position changes to ensure equity.
 What were Standing Committee chairs are now “section” chairs. Committee of the Whole
The Mayor shall preside as the Chair for Committee of the Whole for all agenda sections, with rotating Councillors appointed as section chairs and section vice chairs for
Community Planning, Regulation & Mobility Environment, Infrastructure & Community Services and Corporate Services, Strategy , Risk & Accountability regular items.
Committee of the Whole – Community Planning Regulation & Mobility
Committee of the Whole – Corporate Services Strategy Risk & Accountability Regular Agenda
Budget Committee
Dated at Burlington, this 31st day of October 2023.
 Mayor Meed Ward has decided she is going to do it all. Relayed news story:
First three Strong Mayor decisions
 By Pepper Parr
December 7th,2023
BURLINGTON, ON
During the budget debates City Manager Tim Commisso said on more than one occasion that Burlington had zero tax increases for a number of years, making the point that during those zero tax years there wasn’t enough money being applied to the upkeep of the infrastructure.
Councillor Paul Sharman frequently talks about the several million dollar infrastructure deficit. That deficit is so high that they city had to put a special tax levy in place that was dedicated to infrastructure upkeep.
We find it interesting that Commisso would blame a previous Mayor for not collecting enough in the way of taxes while working in the Finance department – where he would have known just what the problems were.
 The size of the infrastructure deficit? It started growing during City Manager Tim Commisso was working in finance. Would he not have advised the Mayor at the time that more money had to be allocated to infrastructure upkeep?
Our source has Tim Commisso starting out in the Finance Dept. “ I assume he was hired by Bob Carrington but I can’t remember when he started. In the early 2000s after the retirement of Gary Goodman and the departure of Ed Sajecki to Mississauga.
“Commisso was successful in becoming one of three General Managers under Tim Dobbie (the other two being Bob Carrington and Leo DeLoyde).
“Tim’s General Manager responsibilities involved the Development Division (Planning, Engineering and Building). Given his involvement in finance, this involved a steep learning curve which he was able to surmount in good time.”
Perhaps the culture in the municipal sector is – you don’t speak up.
A reader sent us the following information on the amount of time Tim Commisso spent with the city before he moved to Thunder Bay:
City of Burlington
15 yrs 8 mos
General Manager
Oct 1999 – Sep 2008 · 9 yrs
Deputy Treasurer
Feb 1993 – Oct 1999 · 6 yrs 9 mos
 By Pepper Parr
December 2nd, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Delegating on the Staff Direction to the:
Chief Financial Officer to prepare the draft operating and capital budgets for 2025 and 2026 got taken got taken care of – people wanting to delegate to Council on the plans to include early work on the 2025 and 2026 budgets will get to appear before a Committee of the Whole in the new year.
 Lydia Thomas on the left; Eric Stern on the right. Both provided some of the best advise they’ve heard this year. 
Nothing on the date of the Committee of the Whole in January. Burlington moved away from using the phrase Committee of the Whole and got into the habit of calling them workshops.
Same thing – same chair we believe.
 Dan Chapman was blunt and very direct when he addressed Council; does he have more that he wants to say?  Vera Chapman is a data diver – she drilled down into the numbers that were available – how much attention Council paid will become evident when they meet in January as a Committee as a Whole to determine what they want to do with the initiative that had the Mayor getting involved in early stage planning for the 2025 and 2026 budgets. The delay on the part of the Clerk’s Office and agenda management issues gives the group of people who have delegated so effectively the time to pull themselves together as a group to plan the assault this budget process needs.
Council is on the ropes on this one – which is where they need to be.
Related news story:
Two Councillors said no – let the public delegate first.
 By Pepper Parr
December 1st, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
 Mayor Meed Ward waiting in City Hall lobby for people who wanted to know more about the budget approved earlier in the week. Short notice, so maybe that was the reason the number of people who took part in the Drop In Mayor Meed Ward held yesterday was very small.
In the photograph the Mayor posted on her Facebook page she is seated with her Chief of Staff sitting to her right and two unidentified people face her.
 Mayor with a couple that took part in the Drop In on Thursday Who are they and what did they have to say: we will never know. All we do know is that the event took place and the Mayor now has another poster to add to her collection.
By Joe Gaetan
November 29th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON’
What the 4.99% TAX increase means to the average Burlingtonian.
First: The average cost of housing per segment in Burlington is as follows:
Condo’s – $547,739
Condo Towns – $710,936
Freeholds- $881,798
Detached houses – $1,222,381
Next: The COB website- Read More/Learn More
“The City’s portion of the overall tax increase is 4.99%. When blended with Halton Region’s forecasted increase and no change to the Boards of Education, this results in an overall tax increase of 6.68%. This translates to $57.53 increase per $100,000 of urban residential assessment.”
Here is what the TAX increase means to you in pocket dollars.
On average, if you live in a Condo, you will be paying $315.11 more,
a Condo Town $409.00 more,
a Freehold $507.30 more and
a Detached home $703.24 more per next year.
By Staff
November 29th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
In their media release the City communications department said: More information about the municipal budget process under Bill 3, the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022, can be found on the Provincial website.
They got that part wron The Strong Mayor legislation that applied to Burlington is set out in Bill 39
A link to that Bill is set out below along with the regulations. Bill 39 gave Mayor Meed Ward the authority to put forward a budget, which she did. However, the Mayor was not required to put forward a budget – she chose to do so
 At today’s Special Council Meeting, Burlington City Council finalized the 2024 budget. Next year’s budget is focused on essentials, front line services and preparing for growth.
The City’s portion of the overall tax increase is 4.99%. When blended with Halton Region’s forecasted increase and no change to the Boards of Education, this results in an overall tax increase of 6.68%. This translates to $57.53 increase per $100,000 of urban residential assessment.
The property tax bill is made up of three portions, the City of Burlington (50.5%), Halton Region (32.8%), and the Boards of Education (16.7%).
The 2024 budget has been broken down into three categories:
Essentials – This area covers projects and items the City of Burlington must address and/or have already committed to, such as cost of inflation, necessary capital projects and infrastructure renewal.
Frontline Service – This area covers enhanced services that directly improves the quality of life of Burlington residents.
Planning for Growth – This area plans for and prepares for the expected increase in population, our Community Investment Plan, and allow us to catch up and prepare for the future.
This was the first budget under the new provincially legislated Strong Mayor Powers. The Mayor proposed the budget for 2024. The budget was based on the 2024 Financial Needs and Multi-Year Forecast Reference Document prepared by staff earlier this year.
Council brought 62 changes through amendment motions to modify the budget. Of those amendments, 27 were adopted into the budget. These were presented at Committee meetings on Nov. 21 and 23 and the Special Council Meeting on Nov. 28. The budget was finalized at the Special Council Meeting on Nov. 28.
Key investments
- Enhancing frontline service delivery with additional transit operators, firefighters, by-law licensing clerks and customer experience staff to respond to your concerns
- Funding for 3 new community facilities – Skyway Community Centre, the newly renovated Mountainside pool and the former Robert Bateman High School
- $88.6 million of capital investment in 2024 to keep our infrastructure assets like buildings, roads and parks in a state of good repair
- Funding dedicated to future land and facility needs for our growing and changing community
- Free all-day transit for Seniors
- Support for our Community Planning Housing Initiative
- Support to bring the city’s Information Technology (IT) infrastructure into the 21st century
Joint statement from Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and Deputy Mayor for Strategy and Budgets Paul Sharman
“We know these are difficult times for everyone with increased living and housing costs and Council had to make some difficult budget decisions. Working with each other and staff, while hearing from the community, we balanced the needs of the city with our current affordability crisis as best we could. At the end of the day, this is a Mayor and Council budget that focuses investments on essentials, frontline services and planning for future growth. It was created through a lot of hard work and learning through a new provincially-legislated budget process this year. It is our hope this budget sets us up for success in 2024 and for years to come in creating an inclusive, affordable, eco-friendly and caring community for all our neighbours. The 2024 Budget impacts people through the programs and services they receive every day in our city. Each time you have your road plowed, use a City park or trail, or cool off in a municipal pool or splash pad, you are using a City service and seeing your tax dollars at work. This budget continues to build on investments our community has asked for and needs and will only improve Burlington today and into the future.”
Burlington Chief Financial Officer, Joan Ford said: “The adoption of this budget gives much needed support to essential city projects, front line services and infrastructure. As this was our first time establishing a budget under the Strong Mayor Powers, I’m thankful for the work and dedication of City staff and the collaboration with the Mayor, Deputy Mayor for Strategy and Budgets and members of Council to support this new process.
Ford announced that the 2024 budget would be her last.
The City’s mission continues to be to balance the needs of all residents both today and in the future while maintaining the high quality of services that residents enjoy.”
In their media release the City communications department said: More information about the municipal budget process under Bill 3, the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022, can be found on the Provincial website.
This is just plain not true. The Strong Mayor legislation that applied to Burlington is set out in Bill 39
A link to that Bill is set out below along with the regulations. Bill 39 gave Mayor Meed Ward the authority to put forward a budget, which she did. However, the Mayor was not required to put forward a budget – she chose to do so.
Bill 3: Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022 Applies to Toronto and Ottawa
Bill 39: Better Municipal Governance Act, 2022 Applies to Burlington and other Ontario municipalities
O. Reg. 530/22 – Municipal Act
 By Staff
November 24th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Eric Stern delegated to City Council during the budget debates. We asked him if he would do a short piece on what he had to say about his experience in talking to City Council.
Here is what he had to say:
I’ve delegated (spoken) to council twice and I’m slowly learning the inner workings of the budget process.
This is my high-level summary:
1 – Use social media to repeat the simple message “4.99% budget impact.”
 2 – Bury the details, where almost no one can find them, on page 728 of the budget book.
Page 728 shows a 13.7% spending increase.
3 – Wendy Fletcher, the citizen who created a Petition asking people to help STOP the Proposed 2024 Property Tax Increase, points out the city’s own survey shows the majority want services cut or maintained at the current level. No problem, release a new “statistically accurate” survey that shows people want tax increases. Release on a Friday just before an important, and public, Tuesday meeting. I haven’t been able to find the survey so there won’t be much public input but it does make for a great talking point for the mayor.
4 – Make a few tweaks to the budget so the council can say they listened to the public.
5 – Use the strong mayor powers to limit citizen input and force the city prepared budget through in 30 days. The strong mayor legislation allows the mayor to prepare a budget. Repeat another simple message over and over again, “Doug Ford forced me to present a budget.”
6 – Run a victory lap and start hiring somewhere between 50 and 90 new employees.
7 – Repeat next year. Why not, last year the city pulled off a 15.5 per cent municipal tax revenue increase and no one even noticed. Don’t believe me? Take a look at line 1 of your tax bills for 2022 and 2023.
Our mayor and council have been in power for so long they have forgotten who they represent. Public service organizations rarely have enough resources to do their jobs. Council, as our board of directors, is tasked with balancing insatiable need with what the community can afford.
We are heading towards a two-line tax return:
Line 1 – How much money did you make last year?
Line 2 – Send us the amount on line 1.
Dan Chapman delegated at city hall on Thursday November 23rd. Chapman was eloquent, intelligent and didn’t hold back his distaste with the increases. Have a listen.
By Staff
November 18th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
This first Motion to amend the Mayor’s Budget was submitted by the Finance and Transit departments
2024 Budget Amendment
FROM: Transit & Finance Departments
Motion for Council to Consider:
Amend the 2024 budget for the Conventional Transit Service to reflect a $238,000 increase in fare revenue, a $200,000 increase in advertising revenue and a $200,000 increase in diesel expenditures resulting in a net decrease to the 2024 budget of $238,000.
Reason:
Since the time staff finalized the draft 2024 Budget for the Conventional Transit Service additional analysis has been undertaken and new information has come forward.
Based on strong ridership trends in the latter half of 2023, staff are now forecasting 2023 revenues to meeting the 2023 budget of $5.4M. As a result, it is recommended that the 2024 Budget for fare revenues be increased by $238,000. This reduces decreased transit fare revenues identified on page 722 of the Financial Needs and Multi-Year forecast book from $353,000 to $115,000.
Subsequent to the time the draft budget was prepared a competitive bid process has been finalized to secure a new bus shelter advertising partner. While the results of this procurement are still being finalized, they are nearing completion. Based on the preliminary results, staff are recommending that the budget for advertising revenues be increased by $200,000.
Staff have recently undertaken a further review of diesel expenditures. Based on recent trends and forecasted elevated fuel prices into 2024 it is recommended that the 2024 Diesel budget be increased by $200,000.
Motion Seconded by: Not Required Share with Senior Staff
Approved as per form by the City Clerk,
Reviewed by the City Manager – In accordance with the Code of Good Governance, Council-Staff Relations Policy and an assessment of the internal capacity within the City to complete the work based on a specific target date (quarter/year).
Comments:
City Clerk: none
City Manager: none
By Pepper Parr
November 18th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Now that the setting a budget process is being determined by the Strong Mayor powers that Mayor Meed Ward is going to use, here are the rules that City Council has to follow.
It should be said that the using of Strong Mayor powers is something Mayor Marianne Meed Ward chose to use – there was no requirement for her to do so even though she continues to say that she is required to do so. A number of municipalities have decided not to use the Strong Mayor Powers; Guelph is one example.
 Mayor Marianne Meed Ward The head of council is required to propose the budget for the municipality each year by February 1.
The head of council must share the proposed budget with each member of council and the municipal clerk, and make it available to the public. If the head of council does not propose the budget by February 1, council must prepare and adopt the budget.
Mayor Meed Ward produce her budget on GET THE DATE
After receiving the proposed budget from the head of council, council can amend the proposed budget by passing a resolution within a 30-day review period.
Members of Council have produced Notices of Motion setting out what each would like to see changed. They will be debated on November 21st and 23rd. There are 54 Motions.
The head of council then has 10 days from the end of the council review period to veto any council amendment. To veto a council amendment, the head of council must provide written documentation of the veto and rationale to each member of council and the municipal clerk on the day of the veto. Council then can override a head of council’s veto of a council amendment with a two-thirds majority vote, within a 15-day period, after the head of council’s veto period.
There are mechanisms in place to enable council and the head of council to shorten their respective review, veto and override periods. For example, council could pass a resolution to shorten their review and override period, and the head of council could provide written documentation to members of council and the municipal clerk to shorten the veto period.
At the end of this process, the resulting budget is adopted by the municipality.
Municipalities were given Strong Mayor Powers on July 1st, 2023
The information we have provided comes directly from HERE
In-year budget amendments
The head of council is also able to initiate and prepare in-year budget amendments to raise additional amounts from property tax. The head of council may propose the budget amendment by sharing the proposed budget amendment with each member of council and the municipal clerk, and making it available to the public.
After receiving the proposed budget amendment from the head of council, council can amend the proposed budget amendment by passing a resolution within a 21-day review period. The head of council then has 5 days from the end of the council review period to veto any council amendment. To veto a council amendment, the head of council must provide written documentation of the veto and rationale to each member of council and the municipal clerk on the day of the veto. Council then can override a head of council’s veto of a council amendment to the proposed budget amendment, with a two-thirds majority vote, within a 10-day period, after the head of council veto period.
There are mechanisms in place to enable council and the head of council to shorten their respective review, veto and override periods. For example, council could pass a resolution to shorten their review and override period, and the head of council could provide written documentation to members of council and the municipal clerk to shorten the veto period.
At the end of this process, the resulting budget amendment is adopted by the municipality.
By Pepper Parr
October 30th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Here is how she did it.
The Mayor submitted a budget that would reduce the city portion of the tax levy by more than 3 points.
In the three charts set out below the Mayor sets out what was part of the Financial Needs report in one column and shows what her budget amount would be and in a third column she shows the variance.
The numbers deserve some comment, however we are going to wait until the Mayor formally presents her budget to City Council – that will take place in Thursday November 2nd.
Roll your cursor over the image to get an enlarged version
Mayor Meed Ward was very fulsome when she commented on her budget which will be formally presented to Council on Thursday.”I do want to thank staff for all of the work and the thinking that has gone into this. This is not easy. These are not easy times and they are not easy decisions and I do appreciate that. What has been presented is a clearer picture of the city’s needs. And it is now up to council to determine how quickly we are able to address those. I also want to thank the Deputy Mayor of strategy, budgets, performance and process (Paul Sharman) who has been enormously helpful to me and and to the staff and to the team who has been sitting around the table with all of our deep discussions to try to understand and ask questions about this budget presented in a way that is clear to the community.
 Mayor Marianne Ward There are different ways to receive it – if you want to read all 700 and change pages it is online.
There are summary reports. The the presentation that we got today even is more summarized in terms of some of the challenges that we face and we will continue the collective way.
I know I’ve gotten many emails, I’m sure other members of council have. There has been a mix of we want more services.
We want you to you know things like snow clearing of paths to school so kids can walk which is in line with climate change. It’s in line with our mobility goals and so many other things. So, as noted, the legislation requires me to present a budget so from here on out all amendments will be to that budget, we will not be amending the staff financial needs.
The budget is on the agenda for the November 2 council meeting which is this Thursday. It will be formally presenting it at that time. I believe that it’s really important to maintain as much collaboration on the budget as we can possibly get recognizing the legislation has changed things a bit. This will allow us as a council to come to ground on what we think our priorities are going forward how quickly we want to address certain things.
 Councillor Paul Sharman At the end of the day, this budget will not be the mayor’s budget. This budget will be the mayor and Council’s budget informed by what staff have shared with us. truly collaborative as all our budgets have been and informed by the detailed responses that we’ve seen from the public to date.
There will be opportunities for public comment on the online telephone town hall November 7, plus two more committee meetings that residents can delegate to and of course you can reach out to any one of us at any time. So with that I look forward to continued discussion and collaborating to come up with the best budget that we can in the circumstances that we are in.
By Staff
August 10th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Digging into the data is what Municipal Budgets are all about.
 There was a time when public meetings were held; participants were given a short version of the budget and staff were om hand to answer questions. Members of Council will get a document that approaches 300 pages in length – that’s when they start in on the 2024 budget. As part of this annual work, residents and business owners are asked to share their feedback on City services that matter most. This feedback is presented to City Council to help them prioritize projects and services.
There is a survey on the 2024 Budget at www.getinvolvedburlington.ca/2024-budget.
The survey is open until Friday, Sept. 22, 2023.
More information about the budget and how it is prepared is shared in 2024 Budget Framework Report presented to Committee on June 26, 2023.
Key meeting and planning dates for the 2024 budget are:
June 26, 2023 – Budget Framework Report 2024 Budget Framework Report presented to Committee.
Open until Sept 22, 2023 – Budget Survey – Take the survey
Oct. 30 at 9:30 a.m. Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk and Accountability Committee: Overview of proposed 2024 Budget
Nov. 7 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. – Virtual Budget Town Hall
To discuss the proposed 2024 budget and take questions from residents.
 Joan Ford, Finance Director for the a City faces some serious challenges this time around convincing Council to cut back on spending. The amount of debt the city will carry is expected to be above what Ford has advised in the past. Nov. 21 & 23 at 9:30 a.m.
Review and approval of proposed 2024 Budget, including delegations from the public.
Dec. 12 at 9:30 a.m.
Meeting of Burlington City Council: City Council to consider approval of proposed 2024 Budget.
Just in time to determine if you are going to have any money left for Christmas.
By Staff
June 27th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
An understanding of what you will see in your 2024 tax bill is set out in the following four paragraphs and two graphics.
Financial sustainability on a multi-year basis will continue to be our key strategic priority. The budget will continue to face rising pressure from inflation, infrastructure renewal costs, limited revenue growth, and completion of the 4-year work plan initiatives representing visions to meet important community needs. These factors ultimately impact property taxes and reserve fund balances to maintain / enhance existing service levels and quality of life.
 A high level look at the 2024 budget forecast Staff will prepare the 2024 budget taking into account the budget pressures and aligning them to the city’s long-term financial plan and the important policy decisions of council.
While staff will work closely with services to mitigate the tax increase for 2024, it is important to understand that our ability to respond to urgent existing and future needs across many areas is clearly and directly tied to Council’s support for additional tax funding. City treasurer Joan Ford tells tax payers where the rubber is going to hit the road.
It is also important to note that known budgetary pressures that are deferred in the proposed 2024 Budget will need to be incorporated into future years thus increasing the forecasted tax increases identified in the multi-year simulation for 2025 and beyond.
 Projected tax rate through to 2028 The Staff report was lengthy; some time will be needed to fully understand the forces the city is up against – it comes down to either raising taxes or reducing service levels and if services are to be reduced – which ones.
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