o By Pepper Parr
November 29th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Each member of Council has the opportunity to put forward a motion that sets out the changes they want to see to the budget staff has put forward.
Keep in mind that taxpayers are looking at a pretty stiff budget increase and that Staff don’t see tax increases falling below 4% a year for the next five years.
Also, keep in mind that 2022 will be an election year.
 How much fiscal prudence and how much political skin is there in the Stolte budget change proposals? Ward 4 Councillor Shawna Stolte set out the changes she wants to see.
Motions for Council to Consider:
1) Pride (Rainbow) Crosswalks
Remove $45,000 in funding for three additional Rainbow Crosswalks that are addition to the 4 that have already been committed and encourage community groups to engage and fund raise for future installations.
OR for further consideration:
Rename and repurpose the $45,000 to fund public art installations that support additional marginalized groups in the community (ie. a “Seven Feathers Crosswalk” in support of our First Nations/Indigenous community)
And Direct the Director of Roads, Parks and Forestry to generate “City of Burlington Decorative Crosswalk Guidelines” to ensure consistency for future funding requests of this nature.
2) Dedicated operations space for Building Inspection and By-law Staff
Remove $110,000 from proposed Risk Mitigation Measures budget increase.
3) Sherwood Forest Community Centre Facility
Recommit previously approved funding, 2022-2024 capital funding totaling $6.2 million as well as 2022-2023 capital reserve funding totaling $600,000 to the Capital Infrastructure Reserve Fund until such time as the plan for cost sharing is approved by Council and the applicable Joint Venture Groups can provide documentation confirming feasibility of financial commitment.
4) School Playground Improvement Strategy
Transfer $550,000 from the capital budget for School Playground Improvement Strategy to the Park Dedication Reserve Fund to assist with future strategic Halton District School Board land acquisitions and; Direct the Office of the City Manager to re-negotiate the Agreement with the Halton District School Board regarding the use of City tax dollars to replace playgrounds on private HDSB property.
Reason:
1) The competitive bid process for the three additional Rainbow Crosswalks approved in 2021 resulted in a cost of $27,324 for crosswalk markings at the 3 locations. An additional cost of $32,000 was realized as a result of repaving required at 2 of 3 locations in order to maintain integrity of the markings for a total of $59,324 or $19,775 per crosswalk.
 Mayor Meed Ward has put a lot of her political capital on the Rainbow Crosswalks – that capital could be at risk. The LGBTQ2S+ community in Burlington feels very welcomed and supported with the four new Rainbow Crosswalks around the City of Burlington and greatly appreciates that with the addition of these four Rainbow Crosswalks Burlington now, proudly, has more Rainbow Crosswalks per capita than any other community in the country.
The City of Burlington strives to be a place of diversity and inclusion and to that end the residents of the city are widely supportive of this funding being repurposed to include additional valued community groups and initiatives.
2) While the rationale for dedicated space for the Bylaw and Building Department needs are sound, it is premature to commit $110,000 to new leased space when the required space within existing City owned facilities has not been determined based on remote work arrangements. Efforts to confirm and consolidate existing City owned space allocations needs to be completed before committing to newly leased space.
3) Funding for projects that require Council approved cost sharing arrangements should not be committed until such cost sharing arrangements are confirmed.
Additionally, applicable Joint Venture Groups should be required to provide confirmation of feasibility of financial commitment before commitment of capital assets.
4) Upkeep, maintenance and improvements on properties owned privately by the Halton District School Board should be funded through Provincial Ministry of Education funding.
 Will Councillor Kearns, on the left, second the Motion Councillor Stolte brings to the debate this week Stolte now has to find a member of Council to second her motion.
This Budget Memorandum approach is different – it will be interesting to see how the other members of Council react to what Stolte has proposed.
2022 is an election year and members of this Council are going to have to defend the increases.
 This just not a sustainable number – where will the cuts be made?
 By StaffNovember 29th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Elsewhere in today’s news (these will follow) there will be memorandums from each member of Council on the changes they would like to see in the budget they are considering this week
As part of the budget exercise city council will be going through this week there is a five year simulation on what the public can expect – the assumption being that there will be no radical changes in the economic environment.
Not exactly something you can bet on.
To start – have a look at the tax levy numbers – they are not a pretty picture.
You might want to clip that and put it on the fridge -beside the “Burlington is the best city in Canada to live in.The purpose of the simulation is to resent a 5–year operating budget forecast as part of the City’s long–term planning.
The City’s Long–Term Financial plan contains the following key strategic objectives for the city:
1. Competitive Property Taxes
2. Responsible Debt Management
3. Improved Reserves and Reserve Funds
4. Predictable Infrastructure Investment
5. Recognized Value for Services
This simulation uses the 2022 proposed budget as a starting point and
adjusts the 2023–2027 forecast based on estimated budget drivers, information gathered in the Service Information Workshops and forecasted Operating budget impacts resulting from Capital projects.
As with any modeling tool, the simulation forecast has the greatest precision in the first year. It is imperative that the results are simply used as an information tool regarding major budget drivers and future projected tax impacts. It provides an analysis of what the future financial picture for the City of Burlington may look like, helps assess financial risks and the affordability of existing services and capital investments, and provides an
opportunity to analyze sensitivities to assumptions.
Magnitude and duration of COVID impacts
Senior Government Grant Programs
Changes in economic conditions and market demands
Fluctuations in customer expectations
Legislative changes
Reassessment impacts
Operating impacts from approved capital initiatives
Business process improvements
Climate change impacts
Staff have shown a realistic scenario where assessment growth is maintained at 0.6% in 2023, increasing to 0.75% in 2024 and then remaining steady at 1.0% for years 2025– 2027. These estimates are based on future development projections including an allowance for assessment appeals. Infrastructure renewal funding is consistent with the 2021 Asset Management Financing Plan Update and repurposing of the hospital levy to infrastructure renewal as the commitments for the hospital decline.
These components provided the basis for estimating budget drivers and include the following assumptions within each item:
Maintaining Current Service Levels – Base Budget
Inflationary Impacts and User Fees
With the exception of human resources and commodities (hydro, water, fuel etc.), 2.0% inflation per year has been applied to other expense categories (materials and supplies, purchased services) and 1.75% increase per year applied to contributions to Local Boards and Committees.
Most User Rates and Fees are assumed to increase at 2.0% per annum, which is dependent on the nature of the revenues and external market conditions.
However, included in years 2023 and 2024 is an estimated normalizing of
revenue based on shift in consumer behavior and ongoing operational impacts post–COVID, resulting in projected revenues losses of $500,000.
Corporate Expenditures/Revenues
An annual increase to the provisions for Insurance and Contingency Reserves of $50,000 each.
An increase in Investment Income of $50,000 per year starting in 2024 subject to a moderately increasing interest rate environment.
Additional Base Budget Expenses
The simulation highlights larger scale base budget pressures for additional detail. The main drivers are the ongoing market competitiveness initiative with a phased funding plan of $1M from 2023 thru 2025 and the $280K reversal of the one–time funding provided in 2022 to address the shortfall in assessment growth is shifted to the tax base.
Impacts of Prior Council Decisions
As some decisions approved in prior budgets have financial impacts than span further than one year, the model identifies these under Impacts of Prior Council Decisions.
These include:
Tax base support for Tyandaga (2023 & 2024) Revisions to the Private Tree Bylaw fee structure (2023)
Impacts of Previously Approved Capital Projects
There is an estimated $1.7M in funding required to meet Corporate Infrastructure and Software needs over 2023–2027. Funding schedules align with Information Technology forecasts.
Infrastructure Renewal Funding
An annual increase of 1.6% from 2023 to 2027 for Dedicated Infrastructure Renewal Funding. This provides funding for capital renewal, as per the 2021 Asset Management Financing Plan.
Includes the repurposing of the hospital levy to infrastructure renewal in 2023 ($150K), 2025 ($110K) and 2027 ($2.84M)
An annual increase of 4% to the Vehicle Depreciation Reserve Funds to sustain the City’s fleet and equipment inventory Risk Mitigation Measures
Key investment priorities identified in the simulation are classified within the 3 categories highlighted below.
Sustaining City Operations and Financing
Funding for the maintenance of Recreation facilities
As outlined in Business Case 2022–039, Maintaining Assets in Recreation Services to Meet Lifecycle Requirements and Reduce Risk, staff estimate a $700K funding shortfall to adequately maintain Recreational assets. In 2021, a phased approach was endorsed, allocating $100K in each of 2021 and 2022, with the balance phased in over 5 years 2023–2027 in $100K intervals.
Improved investments in Forestry operations
As communicated in the Service Information Workshop, Urban Forestry faces funding challenges to address the level of service required for pest management and tree planting initiatives. As such, the simulation assumes a $100K increase in expenses in each year from 2023–2026 and a provision to a Forestry Reserve Fund of $350K in 2027 to be used toward future funding gaps and new initiatives.
OMERS for Part Time Staff
Effective January 1, 2023 part–time/temporary/casual employees will have the option to enroll in OMERS without a waiting period. In the past, these employees had to meet specific hours of work or earnings criteria for a two–year period to have the option to join. Both the criteria and two–year waiting period will be removed effective January 1, 2023.
At this time, it is hard to predict how many employees will take advantage of this change. To inform the multiyear budget simulation, Finance has modelled the impact at various levels of participation and it is estimated that the impact will be $420K based on a participation rate of 67%.
Designing and Evolving Our Organization
The forecast includes the continued phased implementation of the Designing and Evolving Our Organization (DEOO) initiative to be implemented over the period 2023 – 2027.
Enhancing Services
Investment in Transit services
 Does Burlington Transit need new buses ? As per the Capital Budget and Forecast and in alignment with the 5 year Transit Business Plan, the forecast assumes an additional $836K in annual expenses for 8 Transit drivers in each year from 2023–2026 and $135K for a Specialized Transit driver in 2023 and in each year 2025–2027.
This is based on the purchase of the vehicles through the capital budget the year prior to the operating expenses being realized.
Provision to Green Initiatives Reserve Fund
In April 2019, Council declared a Climate Emergency. Burlington’s Draft Climate Action Plan identified a number of initiatives to assist the City in reducing its overall carbon footprint.
As part of the city’s reserve and reserve fund review report (F–28–20) the city created a Green Initiatives Reserve Fund. The simulation includes an estimated $550K in provisions to the Green Initiatives Reserve Fund over 2024–2027.
As we move forward, the city will need to carefully balance the increasing costs associated with being more environmentally conscious against the city’s other funding demands.
 The upgrades to the Skyway arena show some of the best forward planning the city has done – the challenge is to get it funded. Skyway Arena Revitalization
Enhancements at Skyway Arena lead to an operating budget impact of $304K in 2024.
Modifications to Service to address COVID
The simulation includes an estimated $500K in lost revenues over 2023 and 2024 as ongoing operational impacts post–COVID and a longer–term shift in consumer behavior impact City operations.
Allowance for Unknown Factors
As with all forecasts, it is imperative to recognize that there are unknown factors that will likely occur in the future that could impact the model. In order to address these unpredictable factors, an amount of $150K has been included in the 2024 forecast, increasing by $50,000 per year until 2027. This allowance has been included to recognize that factors in the simulation such as future efficiency savings and assessment growth can be increasingly difficult to predict the further out into the future they are.
Conclusion:
The 5 Year forecast is a tool that provides a high–level summary of major budget drivers and the expected tax impacts. This will be helpful to establish future budget targets, as well as provide the ability to undertake tax impact sensitivity analysis should circumstances change.
 By Pepper Parr
November 17th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Taking a long look at the bigger picture and looking back at what the city has gone through in, as Executive Director Sheila Jones put it – a 609 day Journey – calls for a pause and the question – what’s next?
While we all seem to think that “normal” might be returning no one is set yet to bet real money on a date.
Once a month Council gets taken through a report the Emergency Coordination Group (ECG) uses to advise on what has been done, where the city is financially – tax collections are good and revenue losses as a result of the pandemic are stabilizing.
The city is still in a State of Emergency and no one is certain just when that is going to come to an end and what the process will be to get back to the normal we once knew.
A graphic was put up on the screen – this is where we have been.
 Just ups and then down – city hall has managed to keep the wheels on the wagon and on balance has done a good job. The wear and tear on staff has been significant.
 By Pepper Parr
November 5th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Budget building is an art and a dance that involves Staff and the members of Council.
Staff understand how municipalities work. They don’t have a bottom line that they have to meet – they do strive to provide great service – but they need funds to do that – and they aren’t shy about asking.
Set out below are the services the city performs.
How much of your tax dollars go to each of the services. That data is also available. Do you feel you are getting value for the tax dollars spent delivering that service to you?
Notice that they talk in terms of millions of dollars
By Pepper Parr
November 4th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
During the days before the pandemic got a grip on the world some members of the public would gather in a public place and go over literature on the budget that was being proposed.
There was never an opportunity to change any of the numbers but there were lots of chances to ask questions.
 Carol Gottlob who was a candidate in ward 4 and Angelo Bentivenia a candidate in ward 6 – both lost the first time around – would show up for public budget meetings. Attendance at these budget Public Information events was sporadic. During those occasions when there was to be a municipal election the attendance was very good. People planning on running for council would all sit at the same table and busy themselves with how their candidate would manage the budget.
Those years when there wasn’t a municipal election coming attendance was sparse.
 It was a cold winter night, snow was falling. The city had called a budget presentation event. No one showed up except for a couple of people who had run for office and wanted to stay in the loop. The Mayor hung around for a while then left. Staff packed up their equipment and headed home. The event took place at the Mainway community centre. Less than 20 yards away the arena was close to packed with parents watching their kids play hockey. The budget that set out how much of their tax money would be spent on recreation services was something they didn’t appear to be of or concerned about.  One evening, it was snowing and except for two council hopefuls – nary a soul showed up. That evening right next door was a rink filled with parents watching their children playing hockey.
This time around the communications people are doing their best.
There were full day Council Workshops where Service Presentations were given by staff. They were intense and took place on September 22, 23, 28 & 30, 2021.
Today the Budget Overview took place. Staff set out what they saw as necessary and yes there were a number of asks as well.
A bit of discussion took place related to a position in the Clerk’s Office that was understood to be needed. Discussion on that job came to a quick end when City Manager Tim Commisso explained that the job had already been filled.
The FTE (Full time employee) number is going to grow by an additional 70 people during 2022. That’s above the 14+ that are going to be hired by the Planning department – those 14+ positions will be covered by fees paid by developers to have their applications approved.
There will be a Virtual Budget Townhall to be emceed by the Mayor on November 22, 2021.
The CSSRA Standing Committee will do a 2022 Budget Review & Approval on November 30 & December 2, 2021
It all goes to Council for Budget Approval on December 14, 2021.
There is one rather interesting change to the way members of Council can influence the budget directly. There was in the past a BAR form (Budget Action Request) that members of council would fill in setting out where they felt cuts could be made or additions made. Council members would use the BAR form to promote something they wanted to see done in their ward.
This year they are being asked to prepare and submit a memo setting out their rationale for proposed budget amendment(s). This was to increased transparency for the public. Those memorandums would be summed up reflecting all the proposed changes.
Those memorandums are due in the Finance Department by 4pm on November 23.
Not sure where the idea of the memorandums came from – it will certainly stretch the capacity of at least three current council members.
By Pepper Parr
November 4th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Municipalities cannot show a deficit. They can’t go broke either.
If their finances are suspect the province moves in and takes over.
What municipalities do is set aside money for those rainy days. Well run municipalities that are financially prudent, and the current finance leadership is prudent, as is the City Manager who struggles to impress upon Council the need to be more responsible when it comes to protecting the reserve accounts..
Early in the current council’s term of office at least two of the city reserve funds took a hit.
Four million was taken from the Hydro Reserve fund to pay for the wave break needed at the LaSalle Marina.
During the 2022 Budget Overview that took place Wednesday Council was shown the condition of the reserve funds
 These are not healthy numbers. The practice in Burlington has been to put10 to 15% of net revenues into Stabilization reserve accounts.
Currently the best the city has been able to do is set aside just 10.4%
Municipal old-timers like Tim Commisso and Joan Ford know all too well how foolish this practice is.
Councillor Paul Sharman has in the past refused to vote for budgets that chip away at reserve accounts.
The five newbies don’t have enough experience to fully realize how dangerous the approach the current Mayor has chosen to live with.
To be short $60 million in the Capital Reserve fund borders on recklessness.
There are no words for Councillors that do not put in place a long term plan to cover the shortfall of more than $70 million on corporate and other reserve funds.
One suspects that some members of this council assume that at some point all those high rise towers that they swore they didn’t want to see get approved would some day bring home all kinds of commercial and residential taxes that would solve all the problems.
And we elected them – didn’t we?
 By Staff
November 3rd, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Budgets are a numbers game – for members of Council it is a real life situation that they have to deal with and then explain to the people that elected them.
In order to explain what they are faced with Council members have a series of visuals that set it all out.
On the left they list four factors that impact the budget and tell you (the orange ball) what the impact on the budget is.
On the right they do the same thing with four other factors and use that orange ball to tell you what the impact is on the budget.
 
Then they add another graphic to show what the tax increase is going to be to that point.
They aren’t done yet. Consideration has to be given to the risks involved in running a city. Three more factors are added and another orange ball to tell you what the impact is going to be on the budget.
 Add in the cost of risk mitigation factors. And there you have it – the final tax increase number. And with that you now know what the 2022 budget exercise is going to be all about.
What do you cut where to get a number Council can live with and still get re-elected and something the public will swallow.
No one seems to think that 5.45% increase will sit all that well with the voters.
 By Pepper Parr
November 2nd, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Taxes are about politics – good government service comes after that.
 The four year average amounts to 4.14% – nothing to brag about but with inflation hitting that level – might it be acceptable? You get elected when you lower taxes and fake the delivering of service as best you can.
Burlington changed the way and frequency that it collects leaves and then citizens fight like crazy with those who want to cut down the trees so they don’t have to rake them up or they want to put in a swimming pool.
In the fourth year of a term of office the practice is to lower taxes just enough to show that you care and add a service or two that doesn’t cost all that much,
Some will argue that COVID19 changed those practices.
When the public sees just how much money the city got from the federal and provincial governments they will wonder why taxes are predicted to increase by 5.45% over last year.
The four year tax run for the current council is not encouraging. Is this a tax and spend government?
Too early to tell.
 Sharman will experience some indigestion … Mayor in waiting Paul Sharman will tell you, even if you don’t ask, that during his first year as a member of Council he pushed for a 0% increase – and got it.
Sharman will experience some indigestion over the Mayor in Waiting title; he’s not modest – just strategic.
How the rest of council are going to explain the increase will be interesting to watch.
 Mayor Marianne Meed Ward. was seen as unbeatable when she ran for Mayor the first time – has the music changed? Will a budget be her undoing? The Mayor has already staked out her position – the budget they will be looking at on Wednesday is a “staff wish list” – that’s what the Mayor is reported to have said during her CMHL 15 minutes of fame bit last week.
During this four-year period, the city’s budget included the 1.25% infrastructure levy to direct towards the growing infrastructure funding gap while at the same time provided significant investments in Transit, By-law Enforcement and Forestry.
Add to the mix interest former Mayor Rick Goldring has shown in matters civic. This could be very interesting.
By Pepper Parr
November 2nd, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Work to determine the City of Burlington’s 2022 budget continues. An overview of the budget will be presented to Council at a virtual Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk and Accountability Committee meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 9:30 a.m. The overview will include a look at the proposed 2022 operating budget as well as the 2022 capital budget and forecast.
Key areas of focus for the proposed 2022 budget
Each year, during the City’s budget process, decisions are made to ensure an appropriate balance between affordability, maintaining service levels and financial sustainability over the long term.
The proposed 2022 budget focuses on:
- Mitigating the financial impacts of COVID-19
- maintaining service levels
- ensuring city assets are maintained in a good state of repair
- continuing to provide strategic investments aligned to the City’s work plan, 2018 to 2022: Vision to Focus
- upholding legislative requirements while ensuring competitive property taxes.
Proposed capital budget
The proposed 2022 capital budget is $77.3 million, with a ten-year program of $829.5 million. From this total:
- 68.5% is for infrastructure renewal
- 15.1% goes towards growth-related projects
- 12.8% is for new/enhanced projects
- 3.6% goes towards green projects which support the City’s climate goals.
Proposed operating budget
The proposed 2022 operating budget is $284.8 million and includes new funding to support:
- Sustaining city services ($685,333)
- Additional funding for on-going recreation facility maintenance to meet lifecycle requirements and reduce risk
- One-time funding to support a Gypsy Moth spraying program in 2022
- One-time funding to extend the contracts of two bylaw officers
- Enhancing services ($199,130)
- Funding to make the free transit for seniors pilot a permanent program
- Operating expenses to support the new Orchard Community Hub
- Modifications to services to address COVID-19 ($332,733)
- Funding to make the bus cleaning pilot program permanent
- Dedicated operations space for building inspection and bylaw enforcement staff.
 There was a time when citizens met and discussed the budget options – COVID19 is being used as the reason for not being able to do that this year. Proposed tax increase
When combined with the estimated regional and education tax levies, the overall projected tax increase for a Burlington homeowner in 2022 is 3.18% or $24.76 per $100,000 of assessment. For example, homeowners with a home assessed at $500,000 would pay an additional $123.80 per year or $2.38 per week. This represents a 5.45% increase to the City’s portion of the tax bill.
In a statement reported to have been made by Mayor Meed Ward last week the budget and its tax increase was described as a Staff wish list and would not be passed. Staff do not appar to have gotten that memo.
A copy of the proposed budget for 2022 will be available online.
Public Input
To gather feedback from residents about how municipal services are valued and which ones are a priority for residents, the City hosted an online budget survey from July 5 to Sept. 30, 2021. A total of 539 responses were received.
Survey results:
- 71.7% indicated they are satisfied with the services provided by the City of Burlington
- 64.5% rated the value they receive for their tax investment as good or very good
- 70.3% said it is important to them for funding to be put aside for infrastructure renewal
- 86.3% said it is important to them to set aside additional funding to address potential future emergencies like a pandemic or natural disaster.
Get Involved Burlington also features an interactive budget simulation tool where residents and taxpayers can show the City how they would balance the budget. Users can increase and decrease funding for different City service areas as they see fit while still maintaining a balanced budget.
Virtual 2022 Budget Town Hall – Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. – Save the Date
An additional opportunity for public input on the 2022 budget will be held on Monday, Nov. 22, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. during a virtual town hall hosted by Mayor Marianne Meed Ward. The live, online meeting provides residents an opportunity to learn more and ask questions to City staff about the proposed 2022 budget priorities.
By Pepper Parr
October 28th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Tom Muir, a regular Gazette reader and commentator said he “ saw the Mayor on CHCH TV this morning and the budget was covered. She said 5.45% is a wish list, is too much, and will not be approved.”
In the budget discussions we have heard so far not a peep from the Mayor on what she thought was an appropriate level of tax increase Council could accept.
 Mayor Marianne Meed Ward reported to have described the 5.45% budget increase as a “staff wish list” that would not be passed. To say publicly that the budget is a “Staff wish list” is disrespectful and condescending in the extreme.
Joan Ford and her crew work hard on the budgets and they look for ways to trim costs where they can.
Ford, who fully understands how municipal budgets work, struggles to get this Mayor to understand that reserves are in place for a reason and they are to be respected.
How Meed Ward convinced herself that more than $4 million could be taken from the Hydro Reserve fund and used to pay for a wave break at the LaSalle Marina. The decision was so egregious that City Manager Tim Commisso said aloud that he would begin looking for ways to group the Reserve funds so that it wasn’t so evident just how much money was kept for extreme situations.
There are still those recovering from the flood of 2014. The city had reserves in place then that allowed immediate spending to clear up the creek beds and repair the bridges that had been damaged.
Staff takes their lead from Council. To have people in the finance department working their tails off only to learn that their efforts are seen as a “wish list” hurts.
An apology might be in order.
By Staff
October 25th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Shaping Burlington’s 2022 budget: key meeting dates coming up, including a virtual town hall with Mayor Marianne Meed Ward on Nov. 22
Work to determine the 2022 budget continues. An overview of the budget will be presented to Burlington City Council at a virtual Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk and Accountability Committee meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 9:30 a.m. The overview will include a look at the proposed 2022 operating budget as well as the 2022 capital budget and forecast.
Key areas of focus for the proposed 2022 budget
Each year, during the City’s budget process, decisions are made to ensure an appropriate balance between affordability, maintaining service levels and financial sustainability over the long term.
The proposed 2022 budget focuses on:
- Mitigating the financial impacts of COVID-19
- maintaining service levels
- ensuring city assets are maintained in a good state of repair
- continuing to provide strategic investments aligned to the City’s work plan, 2018 to 2022: Vision to Focus
- upholding legislative requirements while ensuring competitive property taxes.
 City plans to add more bylaw enforcement officers. Proposed capital budget
The proposed 2022 capital budget is $77.3 million, with a ten-year program of $829.5 million. From this total:
- 68.5% is for infrastructure renewal
- 15.1% goes towards growth-related projects
- 12.8% is for new/enhanced projects
- 3.6% goes towards green projects which support the City’s climate goals.
Proposed operating budget
The proposed 2022 operating budget is $284.8 million and includes new funding to support:
- Sustaining city services ($685,333)
- Additional funding for on-going recreation facility maintenance to meet lifecycle requirements and reduce risk
- One-time funding to support a Gypsy Moth spraying program in 2022
- One-time funding to extend the contracts of two bylaw officers
- Modifications to services to address COVID-19 ($332,733)
- Funding to make the bus cleaning pilot program permanent
- Dedicated operations space for building inspection and bylaw enforcement staff.
Proposed tax increase
This represents a 5.45% increase to the City’s portion of the tax bill.
When combined with the estimated regional and education tax levies, the overall projected tax increase for a Burlington homeowner in 2022 is 3.18% or $24.76 per $100,000 of assessment. For example, homeowners with a home assessed at $500,000 would pay an additional $123.80 per year or $2.38 per week.
A copy of the proposed budget for 2022 will be available online at burlington.ca/budget.
 Pre Covid19 there were meetings with staff where questions could be asked. Now it’s all virtual. Public Input
To gather feedback from residents about how municipal services are valued and which ones are a priority for residents, the City hosted an online budget survey from July 5 to Sept. 30, 2021, at getinvolvedburlington.ca. A total of 539 responses were received.
Survey results:
- 71.7% indicated they are satisfied with the services provided by the City of Burlington
- 64.5% rated the value they receive for their tax investment as good or very good
- 70.3% said it is important to them for funding to be put aside for infrastructure renewal
- 86.3% said it is important to them to set aside additional funding to address potential future emergencies like a pandemic or natural disaster.
Get Involved Burlington also features an interactive budget simulation tool where residents and taxpayers can show the City how they would balance the budget. Users can increase and decrease funding for different City service areas as they see fit while still maintaining a balanced budget.
Virtual 2022 Budget Town Hall – Nov. 22 at 7 p.m.
An additional opportunity for public input on the 2022 budget will be held on Monday, Nov. 22, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. during a virtual town hall hosted by Mayor Marianne Meed Ward. The live, online meeting provides residents an opportunity to learn more and ask questions to City staff about the proposed 2022 budget priorities. More details about the link to join the virtual meeting will be available on getinvolvedburlington.ca in the coming days.
 Marianne Meed Ward has never shied away from budget increases. Her approach reflects the Red Liberal in her. Mayor Marianne Meed Ward explains: “The budget process is one of the most important exercises the city undertakes each year. Determining key spending priorities in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is challenging as COVID continues to present significant financial impacts.
“To assist City Council in the budget process, we want residents and taxpayers to share their input and tell us what services are important to them. Please join in the conversation at the Nov. 22 virtual town hall that I will be hosting. We know our citizens expect us to maintain a high quality of services as our city continues to grow and evolve and we want everyone to share their feedback with us, so we can continue to deliver on their expectations.”
 Joan Ford knows her numbers inside out. She gives council the facts and advice when they ask. They don’t ask very often. Joan Ford, Director of Finance gives her side of the budget story: “The City’s annual budget process provides an opportunity to review existing operations and make investments in key City programs and services. While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to provide significant financial challenges for the City, the 2022 budget process will focus on maintaining the city’s financial position, addressing corporate risks, and ensuring residents continue to receive the programs and services that provide a high quality of life in Burlington.”
By Staff
July 21, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Budget time – and this is going to be a defining period of time for this council.
Traditionally politicians put forward a budget that lowers taxes in an election year.
That is going to be very very difficult for this Mayor; she has yet to learn budget discipline.
 Will the Mayor learn to listen to and hear what some of her council members and the public are saying. The Finance department will do their best to make a case for some fiscal prudence. Her council will learn to clamp down – when staff finishes telling them what the city is really up against fiscal prudence will kick in.
Insurance costs have sky-rocketed. Repairing the covid19 damage to the local economy is going to take time.
Burlington is fortunate in having a Finance department that knows what they are facing – and while council lauds their efforts they don’t pay enough attention to the advice that Treasurer Joan Ford puts forward.
The city will be doing another survey – that’s all part of the process. The complexity of municipal budgets is difficult for people to get a grip on. There isn’t a balance sheet or a profit and loss statement – municipalities are not in place to make money – they are there to deliver services and hold funds for those unforeseen situations.
Take the budget survey and tell the finance people s which City services are important to you.
You are encouraged to complete an online survey at www.getinvolvedburlington.ca. All the feedback captured through the survey will be shared with Burlington City Council. The survey will remain open until Sept. 30, 2021.
Key meeting dates for the 2022 budget include:
Sept 22, 23, 28, and 30
City Council workshops with presentations from each City service area
 There used to be public budget meetings that filled the main room at the Art Gallery Nov. 3
Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk and Accountability Committee Meeting: 2022 Budget overview report
Nov. 4
2022 Budget Virtual Town Hall
Nov. 30 and Dec. 2
Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk and Accountability Committee Meeting: 2022 Budget review and approval
Dec. 14
Meeting of Burlington City Council: City Council to consider approval of the proposed 2022 budget
Changes in how Council meetings will take place as the Region works its way through Step 3 of the Re-Open Plan. It might be possible to hold real public meetings with perhaps limited public participation.
Does this Council really want the public in the room looking them in the eye and asking some hard questions?
 By Pepper Parr
July 15th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
 On July 14, 2021, Regional Council approved Halton’s 2022 Budget Directions Report. The Report provides guidelines to staff to maintain existing service levels for Regional programs while supporting the community’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. It also establishes a target property tax increase at or below the rate of inflation (2.0 per cent).
“The 2022 Budget Directions Report is an important step in the development of our next Budget and Business Plan,” said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr. “It lays a foundation to help us preserve our strong financial position, keep property taxes low and support our community as more residents get vaccinated and Halton gradually reopens.”
The Report identifies priorities for Regional investments in 2022 to ensure residents have access to essential services while providing for critical program enhancements to address community growth. It also ensures next year’s Budget aligns with the strategic themes, objectives and outcomes outlined in the 2019–2022 Strategic Business Plan.
 Seven of those smiling faces represent Burlington – if they voted to hold the 2022 tax increase to 2% for the Region – can’t they do that for the City? Financial pressures related to the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine rollout are also identified in the Report. Staff are closely monitoring current and potential fiscal impacts as they develop plans for 2022. The Region will continue to address program pressures, reallocate resources to priority areas and maintain service levels to help achieve a property tax rate increases at or below the rate of inflation.
By Pepper Parr
July 14th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Council is on their summer break until September 6th.
The city will wake up each day – do the things a city does and hope that the wheels don’t fall off.
The City is still in a declared State of Emergency which puts the day to day running of the city in the hands of the Emergency Control Group (ECG).
What if they have to do something quickly – really quickly to deliver the services council has approved?
Council found a solution for that – they gave the city manager delegated authority to spend $250,000 without referring to council before getting the cheque signed.
Pretty decent amount in terms of pocket change for city manager Tim Commisso to carry around. That kind of cash could certainly burn a hole in one’s pocket.
 City manager Tim Commisso To be serious this is just prudent management that allows the City Manager and his delegate (when the City Manager is absent) to make the decisions normally deemed to be decisions of Council. Such decisions would be limited in dollar value to $250,000 at a maximum per individual decision. In making these decisions, the City Manager and his delegate will have the support of Burlington Leadership Team and Emergency Control Group.
This authority begins on July 14 and stays in place until September 6.
The City Manager and the Mayor will stay in touch and if a situation crops up that is more than critical the Mayor can call a Special Meeting of Council and do the necessaries.
The City Manager is required to report any and all decisions made under this delegated authority to Council in the September Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk and Accountability committee meeting.
In addition, the City’s Corporate Continuity of Governance & Operations Plan describes the importance of the succession of leadership, particularly when involved in an emergency situation, to ensure the City of Burlington can carry out mandated responsibilities. In the case of the ECG, this succession is clear between the City Manager and his alternate, namely the Executive Director, Environment, Infrastructure & Community Service.
 It was a relatively light downpour – it just lasted a long, long time. Many will remember the crisis that occurred when during a Sunday in August 2014 rain began to fall and it kept falling. When it was all over the city had to deal with the 191 mm of rain that flooded basements, underpasses and large open areas.
The preparations in place at the time taught city council that things had to change.
In May 2020, the City’s service re-design strategy outlined a responsive and highly measured approach to resuming delivery of City services and operations. This strategy included a framework for governance and decision making, clearly outlining those decisions to be made by Council and those that could be made directly by the Burlington Leadership Team/ECG/Service Leads.
The decisions of Council are in accordance with the following approved framework:
 There are five question the City Manager and his leadership have to ask when they are making a decision about the delivery of services. City staff looked at a number of options before arriving at a recommendation:
1. Hold decisions until the resumption of committee and Council meetings in September – NOT RECOMMENDED
This option would hinder the City’s ability to respond to changes in the Provincial re-opening regulations and orders in a timely manner resulting in further financial impacts, potential loss of service and significant reputational damage.
2. Seek approval of Council to delegate decisions up to $250,000 per individual decision to the City Manager (or his delegate in his absence) –RECOMMENDED
This option is consistent with the application of all formal delegated authority decision making by the City whereby authority transcends from Council to an identifiable staff member. In discussion with the City Clerk, delegating most COVID re-opening activities to the City Manager through the Council break would be most appropriate. The City’s current policy framework, with the Delegated Authority By-law and Procurement By-law have Council established approval limits that will be respected throughout this time. In September, a report to CSSRA as an addendum would report the COVID-related activities during the break. When the dollar threshold is expected to exceed $250,000, the City Manager and City Clerk will confer with the Mayor on the need for a special council meeting.
3. Seek approval of Council to delegate decisions to the Mayor – NOT RECOMMENDED
This option is not consistent with the application of all formal delegated authority decision making by the City. Delegation of authority, as is the case with all areas under the existing Council approved Delegated Authority by-law, sees the authority transcend from Council to an identifiable staff member.
4. If and as required, Mayor to call a special meeting of City Council to consider and approve COVID related service redesign decisions – NOT RECOMMENDED
This option is contrary to Council’s prior approval of the annual Council Meeting Calendar which specifically sought to re-establish an extended break during July and August. In so doing, both Council and staff are
afforded the opportunity to “lead by example” and support measures that address ongoing fatigue and stress caused by many months of COVID emergency response. However, there is a provision in the recommendation for the City Manager and City Clerk to confer with the Mayor on a call of a special council meeting should the $250,000 per individual decision threshold be exceeded.
 Joan Ford, the city’s Chief Financial Officer is on top of every financial decision made – her counsel is sought and respected by the City Manager. The Chief Financial Officer continues to have corporate oversight of all COVID-19 service re-design decision impacts and reporting to Council. The City Finance team, working closely with other staff, have applied extraordinary due diligence in securing COVID related funding (approximately $20 million in total). As a result, the City is very well positioned financially to address any impacts arising from additional service redesign decisions in July and August.
As long as it doesn’t rain in August and assuming that the vast majority of the public act responsibly and get their vaccinations – we could be in for a decent summer.
The announcement yesterday by the Chief Medical Officer for the province that he expected a wave of infections in September is certainly a bummer.
By Pepper Parr
July 5th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
It is that time of year again – setting the budget for 2022 and, from a Council member perspective, keeping an eye on what the budget will do to their re-election prospects.
Expect every member of Council to seek re-election with a maybe not for ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns (who has told one of her supporters that she will not run again) and possibly ward 6 Councillor Angelo Bentivegna who may find that the work load is not something he wants to take on for four more years. However, he has said publicly that he is planning on running again.
In a Staff report that will be discussed at a city Standing Committee meeting Monday July 5th timelines for the 2022 budget are set out.
Council Workshops –Service Presentations
The budget projections for each of the 38 services the city provides will be reviewed on September 22, 23, 28 & 30, 2021
Budget Overview November 3, 2021
Budget Virtual Town hall November, 2021(TBC)
2022Budget Review & Approval – November 30 &December 2, 2021
Council –2022 Budget Approval December 14, 2021
Council Workshop sessions have been scheduled over 4 days to allow the 38 City Services to present overviews of their business plans to Council. Each of the City Services have been grouped into the 8 sessions by themes somewhat aligned to the Strategic Plan.
 With a projection for a tax increase of more than 5% the historical record looks a little dismal. These workshop presentations will include:
A summary of current financial investment by service
An overview of current service delivery including known financial gaps and service needs
An overview of the asset investment required for service delivery
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
An overview of service goals and objectives
A portion of the presentation on the first day (Session 1) will be set aside to provide an overview of the incremental budget investments including staffing that have been made during this term of Council (2019-2021).
In addition, a portion of the presentation during the last day (Session 8) will include an update on the overall Designing and Evolving Our Organization (DEOO) process.
Reckoning and future direction:
Some of the spending done in the past few years is now going to have to be reckoned with.
This budget is going to be a turning point for the city. The impact of the Interim Control bylaw that stopped approval of projects for a year (it has extended now to whenever the LPAT hearings resolve the appeals made), the creation of an approved but not yet in force Official Plan and the significant number of high rise tower development applications that are challenging the Planning departments ability to do its work on a timely basis.
 The growth of properties that go on the tax base is too low – all the development that has people worried about what their city is going to look like does pay some of the bills. Right now those hi-rise towers are holes in the ground. The success Mayor Meed Ward has had in getting the Urban Growth Boundaries moved well north of the downtown core and getting the province to realize that a bus terminal was not a Major Transit Service Area are wins for which she is not getting the credit she deserves.
The focus on getting high rise housing around the GO stations was aptly described by the Mayor as the creation of the new small cities. Five years from now there will be a number of new city councillors to accommodate the new wards that will have to be created to accommodate the population growth.
While the fight isn’t over yet the desire on the part of the developers to put up tall buildings in the downtown core, especially in that football shaped piece of property between Old Lakeshore Road and Lakeshore Road, is no longer the slam dunk it looked like when the 2014 city council held its last meeting.
Coping with all these changes brings with it challenges that have to be dealt with – they all show up in a budget that also has to cope with the costs of a pandemic.
Fortunately the province has created funding sources that leave Burlington in pretty good financial shape in terms as to what the pandemic has cost the city.
The cost to the hospitality sector has been brutal and a number of operations in that sector will not survive. Retail has also taken a hit.
 It all adds up. The financial fundamentals for Burlington are pretty good; the leadership on the administrative side has been what was needed to get us through the pandemic. Going forward city manager Tim Commisso may not want to continue to handle the day to day grind. He has found his future leadership within the organization and appears to have done a good job of nurturing and developing the administrative talent.
There are a number of senior level retirements coming up – legal and human resources come to mind. The legal department has had difficulty finding talent with an understanding of the way the municipal sector works – it is a world unto itself.
Treasurer Joan Ford should be given medals for the job she has done. Along with a superb level of service Ford has grown the talent within the department to ensure that the financial side continues delivering.
Managing the changes the pandemic has brought about has critically impacted on the way citizens who pay attention to what gets done at city hall are able to participate.
 A simulation based on the available data shows hefty tax rates for the last year in the current term of council and for the first three years of the next term of office. Can they be elected on this platform? Having to go virtual has almost put an end to the kind of delegations citizens would provide. Not being able to be in the room, actually see all the members of council and react to their body language, facial expressions severally limits genuine participation.
We all pay for the lack of thoughtful response from concerned citizens.
 This is your city council in a virtual session. There were no delegations at this meeting. The view does not include all the participants. The Public Board of Education manages to have some of the trustees take part in the meeting by being in the room. Burlington’s city council is close to being at the point where limited public participation could begin – there has been no signal from the members of council that this might be in the offing.
Life is easier when you don’t have to respond to criticism from someone right in front of you – looking you in the eye,
Kind of convenient for them.
By Pepper Parr
May 19th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Every once in a while ward 6 Councillor Angelo Bentivegna casts a vote intended to make a point.
 Councillor Angelo Bentivegna: thinking it through. This time he was asking what impact changing the business model for the Tyandaga Golf Club would have on the 2022 budget – and then reminded his colleagues that the projected tax rate for 2022 was 5.25%
Council was about to pass the item as part of a collection of issues that had been pulled together as a consent item, which is council’s way of voting on a number of decisions at the same time.
Any member of Council can ask to have an item pulled from the consent list so that it can be voted separately.
Bentivegna wanted more information on just what the change in the business model would have on the tax rate.
He was told that it would likely be between .07% or .08% – which would put the 5.25% projection over 6%
Staff did their best to assure Bentivegna that the public wouldn’t see any increase in 2022 and probably not in 2023 either. Any funds the golf course needed would be for capital items and would go on a list to be considered by the Capital expense people.
 Ward 6 Councillor Angelo Bentivegna making a point at a council meeting. Bentivegna’s point was that – yes it would be going on a list and at some point the public would be asked to pay.
When it came to a vote on the item Bentivegna asked that it be a recorded vote. He was going on the record and wanted his colleagues to do the same thing.
The vote was 6-1: Bentivegna had made his point with his “no” vote.
The public will at some point be asked to pay for capital items at the golf course. The fear in the minds of many is that the public might be asked to pay for some of the operating costs as well.
 By Staff
May 6th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
City Council approved the 2021 Tax Levy Bylaw at its meeting on May 5, 2021.
The bylaw allows the City to bill 2021 property taxes and set payment due dates for final tax bills on June 22 and Sept. 22, 2021. Final tax bills will be mailed in late May.
The 2021 Tax Levy Bylaw reflects the budget processes of both the City and Halton Region. The province provides the education tax rates.
 City of Burlington 2020 and 2021 Urban Residential Property Taxes per $100,000 Current Value Assessment (CVA) COVID-19 Property Tax Relief
In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic impact, on March 3, 2021 Burlington City Council approved a 2021 COVID-19 Property Tax Deferral Payment Plan program. The application-based program provides relief to residents and businesses that continue to face financial hardship due to the pandemic.
 Eligible property owners who are unable to pay property taxes by the regularly scheduled tax due dates can apply to defer taxes under a pre-authorized payment plan. Those eligible may include unpaid balances from March 1, 2020 onward in the deferral plan and can choose which month they would like to start the monthly payments. The remaining options for start dates are June 1, or July 1. Equal monthly withdrawals will be made that will allow for the property taxes to be paid in full by Dec. 1, 2021.
Property owners enrolled in this payment plan will not be subject to penalty and interest charges as long as payments are made.
Please visit Burlington.ca/property tax for more information or email pap@burlington.ca to register.
Quick Facts
• The City of Burlington collects property taxes for the city, Halton Region and the Halton district school boards. The total combined tax levy for all three entities is approximately $439 million.
The city’s levy is $182 million; the city collects $141 million on behalf of Halton Region; and $116 million on behalf of the Halton district school boards. The taxes levied for Halton Region and the Halton district school boards are remitted to them.
• Burlington City Council approved an increase to the Low-Income Seniors Property Tax Rebate. For eligible property owners, the rebate has increased from $525 to $550 for the 2021 tax year.
By Pepper Parr
May3rd, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
A very solid look at what the citizens of Burlington get for the money they pay Councillor Paul Sharman to serve as a city councilor is on the Council agenda this week.
Paul is a bean counter – an accountant with years of experience managing some tricky corporate budget issues. He was once on the payroll at Nortel, a once thriving Canadian corporation in the communications equipment sector.
When it comes to numbers and process he knows whereof he speaks – and this week he is going to speak quite bluntly to his colleagues about some serious problems related to the way budgets are prepared by staff and handled by council members when they are submitted for debate and discussion.
Joan Ford, the city’s Treasurer knows where every dollar comes from and where every dollar gets spent. Finance is and has been for some time the best run department in the city. This past 15 months have pushed them beyond the limit – but they never faltered. Joan Ford, the treasurer, has been with the city for more than 30 years (33 I think) and has a cottage that she is said to want to spend more time. She has a fine staff – but it will be very hard to replace Joan Ford. That is not to suggest that she is leaving – we have no idea what her personal plans are.
Councilor Sharman has put forward a Staff Direction to:
Direct the Chief Financial Officer to report back in July 2021 as part of the budget framework report on process changes reflecting a coordinated corporate integrated business planning, measurement, budget and performance management process.
“Based on my experience and observations, as a Councillor,” said Sharman, “I believe we are experiencing increasingly difficult challenges with the alignment of the City’s annual budget process with strategic decision making.
 Sharman has spent a lot of time explaining the finer points of budget matters to Councillor Bentivegna. “In addition, Council has very limited routine knowledge about how well City operations are performing other than when we receive complaints from citizens. Key performance measurement indicators are not routinely provided to Council. Overall, I very much appreciate and value the efforts of staff, including the Finance Budget team, however a discussion on this matter by Council, is both timely and critically important to reduce performance risks of the type Burlington has experienced in recent years.
 One year the finance staff gave members of Council the complete budget on a memory stick with a feature that allowed them to make changes in the budget and see instantly the impact on the tax rate. That memory stick was never made available to the public. “While we have enhanced our efforts related to multi-year strategic planning, service planning/resource needs and operational risk management, the unrealistic expectations placed on the budget process is increasingly apparent. A few key considerations:
the culture of requiring Council to provide budget directions in July, inclusive of a staff recommended city tax rate change target, without in depth and disciplined understanding of the business performance issues contribute to our service and operating risks.
“After the “budget direction report” is approved, staff undertakes significant work to prepare a budget in which the majority of the Council discussion revolves around department cost centers and services where all recommendations are developed relative to the prior year’s budget (or base case), which is adjusted for inflation, employee compensation increases and other known increases.
“Following the Chief Financial Officer’s line by line review where base case adjustments are completed, staff assess what other additions might be acceptable based on Council sensitivity to a perceived tax increase target rather than a complete understanding of the business needs of the City. All of this leads to the completion of a proposed budget prepared by staff and presented to Council for review, modification, and approval in the absence of adequate understanding of current operational performance measures, issues, and risk.
“Formal Council Budget review and approval is accomplished through a “horse trading” process that revolves around a form called “Budget Action Request” (BAR), which is a list of items to be amended and tabled by each member of Council based on their review of the draft budget. Each item is discussed by Councilors and then voted on. Items that are approved have the effect of modifying the budget and lead to budget approval. The BAR form process is essentially short term focused and not suitable for dealing with longer term operational or strategic goals of the organization. Meanwhile, history tells us that departments are often struggling because there has been no continuous dialogue with Council about the extent to which operational needs exist in the City.
‘Some recent examples where Council had inadequate or no prior awareness of critical incidents that might have been avoided had what is being proposed been in effect, include:
 Laura Boyd once produced a report that set out all to clearly where the problems were in making the best use of the staff compliment. • Transit staff working extended hours beyond legislative limits and service goals not being met due to inadequate budget.
• Incidents in Recreation Community and Culture related to facility preventative maintenance standards.
• Community Planning department seriously under-resourced to address existing and forecasted workload i.e., development applications.
• Roads Parks and Forestry seriously under-resourced to meet Council approved service standards and community expectations.
• By-Law Enforcement/Animal Control under resourced
• Human resources stretched particularly given the unprecedented impact on staff workload.
“Strategy formulation is the most important mechanism for prioritizing resource allocation for the long term, sustainable, benefit of the community we serve. That allows us to consider critical long term funding requirements, as was accomplished in previous terms of Council for a) JB Hospital expansion, b) Infrastructure renewal including new annual dedicated levy.
“With regard to strategy alignment with the budget process, the following should be in place recognizing it will not all happen in one year. There should be distinct business plans for each key strategic direction embedded in our 25 yr Strategic Plan and V2F 4yr Action Plan, even if only rudimentary, initially.
 Councillor Sharman has always been very direct with his comments – he can be withering at times. “These plans should be reviewed in depth every 5 years and consulted every year as part of a rolling 5-year Operating Plan. The first year of the Operating Plan would be approved as the budget for the subsequent year. The operating plan/1st year budget should be based on real, unvarnished, in depth reviews of a 5-year business plan for each service. The service business plans should be brought to Council for review before “budget directions” are provided.
“Council’s Strategic Plan and approved Operating Plan/Budget need to transcend elections and provide useful guidance to future Councils as part of the preparation of both documents (not a commitment). These plans will be subject to change, as all plans are. The premise of this suggested model is to place a focus on long term planning with short term adjustments. The approach is designed to shift the organization focus to the future rather than on the past, and to the business of the organization rather than vague and poorly informed assessments of community sentiment.
“Here is what I propose, recognizing that staff will need to report back:
1) Staff report back in July 2021 with a framework and proposed timing for the budget process enhancements related to alignment with strategic planning and ongoing service planning. Please note staff were already planning to come to Council in July, comments/guidance from council today will be helpful.
 Sharman: Waiting for the wisdom he has just sprinkled on council to settle in? 2) In September, real, unvarnished, in depth reviews of 5-year business plans for each service be held with Council in preparation for budget with short, midterm key metrics. Integrated into this reporting, the City Manager should include an update on multi-year resource needs in keeping with the recent Designing and Evolving the Organization (DEOO) initiative.
3) Staff to prepare summary report of service reviews to identify issues raised, risks, opportunities, priorities and recommendations. Service priority directions to be sought from Council.
4) A distinct business plan be prepared for each strategic direction for the full planning horizon that estimates key activity milestones and resource requirements complete with short-, mid- and long-term key metrics.
5) A 5-year business plan be brought to council that reflects the combination of items 2,3&4 above. This represents the basis for budget decision making.
6) The consequent 1st year of the budget is to be presented in both perspectives of
a) Service budget, operational measures, and performance targets b) Department budgets reflecting the service budgets, multi-year resource needs, KPI measures, and targets.
7) Covid-19 verbal updates to be replaced in future by a City Service Operations Review Update “Ops Review.”
“What is proposed represents a huge change culturally and work wise. It is possible that all aspects mentioned exist already to some degree, but refinement is required. They require time to be accomplished. Burlington staff and Council have worked to implement all of the pieces over the last ten years. Now it is time to integrate and align them…it is now time to complete the work.
 Ever the advocate – Sharman during the 2018 election – there was a period of time when his seat was at risk “Doing so should simplify and massively improve Council knowledge, planning, budget preparation and approval. That said, I recognize that to introduce it all in one year is not feasible. Aspects can be implemented for the 2022 budget process, and that we consider doing what is possible, without creating massive disruption. The rest can be phased over the next year and perhaps beyond.”
Council is going to spend a lot of time on this one. The subject is as dry as toast and as important as whatever you have in your wallet.
By Pepper Parr
April 24th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
The week was a media bonanza for ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns.
 Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns On Wednesday she handled a two hour webcast on what is known now as Fairview LP, the gigantic development that will rise on the 8.5 acre property to the east of the Burlington GO station; on Thursday she held a ward meeting in which she jammed in everything she could possibly tell you about what she is achieving at city hall.
There was one item of significant interest in the city hall recap – that was what appears to be a new and very welcome approach to creating budgets.
Kearns first explained that the 4.14% increase on the city portion of your tax bill was really necessary – that can be argued at some future date.
Kearns also explained how hard council had worked to get a budget in place before the end of March.
The Finance department prefers to get a budget in place before the end of a calendar year but Covid19 has screwed up everything everyone is trying to get done.
 The practice in the past was to invite the public to “review” the budget that had already been decided upon. It was community engagement at its worst – getting public input before city departments did their work would be classic community engagement. The plan, if we heard to ward Councillor correctly, was to start budget thinking in June and ask the public what they would like to see before having the various departments submit their first cut on a budget.
The Gazette has been advocating this for years – maybe, just maybe, they will ask the public how they would like to see their money spent.
Done properly this could be very effective.
Time will tell.
Salt with Pepper is the musings, reflections and opinions of the publisher of the Burlington Gazette, an online newspaper that was formed in 2010 and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.
 By Ray Rivers
April 22, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Just like that it was over! Presentation of a budget with no real surprises, unlike the almost alarmist complaining by the opposition parties that it had been two years in coming. And it’s a huge budget document with spending to match. There was relatively little post-budget fuss except for the habitual Tory complaints about the mounting size of the deficit and the debt.
 Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland preparing to speak to her budget which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leafs through. None of the opposition leaders want an election right now, so they are behaving very gingerly to avoid an excuse for an election. The polls show the Liberals would win again and maybe with a majority this time. And the Libs would love to take advantage of that, but we’re in probably the worst phase of the pandemic now and the voters resent it when opportunistic governments call inconvenient and untimely elections. So it’ll come but not just yet.
The pundits are calling this an election budget anyway. And it is loaded with goodies for just about everyone. A chicken in everyone’s pot. In any case it’s all borrowed money – so more like the government borrowing your chicken to give it back to you. The biggest goodies are climate related initiatives, creating a million jobs this year, and a ten dollar a day national child care program. But everyone gets some kind of handout, be it farmers, householders, green energy start ups, existing oil companies, and even seniors.
The $10 a day pre-school plan is long overdue for a society which values social interdependence as Canadians like to think we do. Quebec’s successful program is the template which the feds are looking at. The results from la Belle Province include better early education, increased female participation in the labour force and economic growth.
We too might have already had this program. But Jack Layton’s NDP’s pulled the plug on Paul Martin’s minority government in 2006 and with it died a unique federal provincial agreement to establish a national child care program. Stephen Harper’s, supported by Layton, killed the initiative and gave parents some cash instead, which as one Liberal partisan noted, would likely buy beer and chips instead. So Mr. Singh is on shaky ground when he claims this has been a long term NDP policy.
 Federal civil servant handing over a cheque to a Quebec civil servant. Having showed their hand Mr Trudeau and his finance minister have got their job cut out for them getting the current field of cash strapped premiers to ante up and sign on to a new plan. And the feds have weakened their negotiating position by saying they would be picking up half of the bill. Quebec has signaled that it would be happy to get a cheque instead, since it already has a program.
Not every good idea made it to the budget however. Rank and file Liberals who paid their money to participate in the recent policy convention must be disappointed that their highest priorities seem to have got lost. Pharmacare, a priority also for the NDP, seems to have been overlooked, though another NDP policy, a federal minimum wage of $15 per hour, has been included.
Universal basic income (UBI) didn’t even get a mention though about 90% of voting delegates supported it at their convention. That is probably because a UBI would make it more difficult to justify the kind of piecemeal pork that get handed out with this kind of budget – discretionary top-ups and the continuation of COVID emergency programs, most of which are poorly thought out, like the problematic federal sick leave.
And then there is the mother of all wasteful programs – the COVID wage subsidy. At about $100 billion the wage subsidy is the most costly federal COVID-19 program, and one of the most expensive short-term government programs in Canadian history. Companies get taxpayer money so they can keep people on the payroll when they don’t have enough work for them. Isn’t that what we used to call Soviet-style socialism?
 Canadian Football League wants to get its snout into the trough as well But it turns out that is a great way to put more money into the pockets of shareholders and to fatten the bonuses and salaries of senior executives, while regular workers are given the boot anyway. Apparently even the big three telecoms are sucking up wage subsidy money, even at a time when internet usage is up 70-90%. And telecom rates haven’t declined that I’ve noticed, so how do they qualify? And how does the CFL (Canadian Football League) get to dip its pigskin in the trough as well?
Who would approve such a wasteful program? Turns out it was a unanimous decision of all the patties. And, this has to be a conflict of interest because all four national political parties have also applied for a wage subsidy from this program. So the next time Erin O’Toole complains about the mounting cost of the deficit, someone should remind him that he and his party are also a big part of the problem.
 Ray Rivers, born in Ontario earned an economics degree at the University of Western Ontario and a Master’s degree in economics at the University of Ottawa. His 25 year stint with the federal government included time with Environment, Fisheries and Oceans, Agriculture and the Post office. Rivers is active in his community; has run for municipal and provincial office.
Background links:
Budget – Wage Subsidy – Political Parties at the Trough –
Cost of Wage Subsidy – The Rip Off Crowd – Sealing the Deal –
|
|
