Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns submits six Motions to revise the Mayor's Budget

By Pepper Parr

November 18th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

The following are the Notices of Motion submitted by Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns

Motion for Council to Consider:

Add the following 6 positions with a total cost of $970,845 to the 2024 Budget.

Manager Experience Strategy and Design	$190,512	Key Investment – Burlington Digital Services
Data Engineer	$138,684	Key Investment – Burlington Digital Services
Platform Administrator	$157,373	Key Investment – Human Capital Investments in Stabilizing Operations
Application Analyst – Workday / EAMS	$136,391	Key Investment – Enterprise Business Services Support
Product Manager – Workday / EAMS	$157,373	Key Investment – Enterprise Business Services Support
Solicitor – General Litigation, Municipal Law, Insurance Practice	$190,512	Key Investment – Burlington Digital Services

Reason:

All items if left not accommodated will result in the following: Digital transformation stagnation, workforce enablement challenges, service delivery inefficiencies, underutilized investments, security and compliance risks, impaired organizational performance, reduced engagement in service design and improvement, deterioration of employee experience, difficulty in adapting to technology changes, challenges in system maintenance and upgrades.

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

Motion for Council to Consider:

Remove item Multi-year Community Investment Funding (Report CM-03-22) with a value of $2,200,000 from the 2024 Budget.

Reason:

Recommend that a decision on the above 2024 budget provision be deferred until staff can formally investigate the development and application of new financing tools including those as outlined in recent BLP workshop held on Sept 18^th in support of future community development and deliver attainable housing.

New municipal infrastructure financing tools could potentially be utilized to support provision of major community infrastructure as part of any future plans for development of new strategic growth areas and other communities inclusive of BLP land related partnership opportunities. The development of future communities in collaboration with private sector organizations will most certainly yield significant financial benefits to participating organizations. As such, the opportunity to fully analyze, scrutinize and explore all other options should be considered prior to approving and collecting such a dedicated levy, notwithstanding the need for additional funding does exist for a number of reasons.

An option may include the targeted use of additional long-term City debt properly supported by economic analysis and a project business case to justify such investment. Other options may include creation of public private partnerships (PPP) in co-operation with developers; application of Tax Increment Financing by-laws as allowed for by the Province; and specific funding agreement opportunities with land owners and developers.

Motion Seconded by: Not Required

Share with Senior Staff

Approved as per form by the City Clerk,

Comments:

City Clerk: none

City Manager: none

Motion for Council to Consider:

Add a Seasonal Downtown Beautification Coordinator position with a total cost of $27,807.80 to the 2024 Budget.

Reason:

A gap in maintenance has occurred during the high season in downtown Burlington that will require a coordinated effort between the BIA and Staff. Ongoing construction projects, micro garbage areas, increasing frequency of vandalism and a noted increase in discarded drug needles is requiring a proactive and collaborative approach to cleanliness between the BIA and Staff. The BIA will also be seeking additional outsourcing for private property graffiti removal. Increasing challenges with unkept construction signage is eroding the downtown experience. See Appendix A.

Monitor public areas and report any issues to appropriate regional or municipal authorities, including but not limited to: illegal dumping, overflowing garbage receptacles, weeds, flooding, tripping hazards, etc.

Conduct daily micro-litter cleaning throughout the district, tracking and measuring the amount of garbage collected.

Assist with identification of tagging, graffiti and related vandalism across the public realm downtown.

Provide outdoor activation assistance to partner organizations and BIA-led projects that animate the public realm.

Work with staff to create and implement tactical work plans that ensure activities have measurable objectives, timely tactics and outcome-driven measurement.

Tasks:

Pickup up micro-litter and debris from sidewalks, curbs and park edges, tracking and measuring the amount of garbage collected

Regular light weeding of tree wells and sidewalks

Inventory instances of graffiti/vandalism and assist in remediation measures through BIA

Assist with coordination of public realm activations by funded partners, including daily installation and/or removal of tables & chairs

Motion Seconded by: Not Required Share with Senior Staff

Approved as per form by the City Clerk,

Comments:

City Clerk: none

City Manager: none

Motion for Council to Consider:

Add 2 additional Firefighter positions (for a total of 4) for Station #8 (2024-014) with a total additional cost of $301,419 to the 2024 Budget.

Reason:

Council endorsed the Fire Master Plan (2022) BFD-03-22 with instruction to the Fire Chief to incorporate the investments recommended into the 2023 Budget and multi-year financial simulation.

Chief to submit requests for increased resource needs as part of the City’s annual budgeting established processes. The recommendation for eight firefighters were to be phased in across two years – 2023 and 2024. (Fire Master Plan Section 8.11.1, 8.12.1)

Hiring eight firefighters to increase the existing total career suppression complement from 172 to 180 firefighters (support minimum staffing needs at Station 8) (Immediate Priority phased over two budgets)

Operational efficiencies are achieved when training is conducted as a quad.

Overtime actuals have greatly surpassed overtime budget materially trending upward since 2018, with the investment in four firefighters the trend is expected to reverse.

Improved employee health and well-being through appropriate staffing levels.

Assists in closing the gap on recommended 1FF:1000 Pop resulting in improved safety & response time, fire suppression, public safety and hazard mitigation.

It is the conscientious to do

Motion Seconded by: Not Required Share with Senior Staff

Approved as per form by the City Clerk,

Comments:

City Clerk: none

City Manager: none

Motion for Council to Consider:

Add the following 7.1 high priority positions with a total cost of $844,805 to the 2024 budget:

Reason:

These positions are necessary to achieve V2F Goals.

High Priority Staffing Addition
2024-033 Analyst – Government Relations/Grants	0.5	$ 63,006	$ 63,006	SR&A
Engagement & Volunteer Coordinator	1	$ 119,562	$ 119,562	CR&E
Supervisor Customer Experience	1	$ 119,562	$ 119,562	CR&E
2024-032 Technologist – Field Services	2	$ 210,896	$ 210,896	CPRM
Traffic Operations Student (increase fro	0.6	$ 29,000	$ 29,000	CPRM
Urban Forestry Supervisor	1	$ 145,406	$ 145,406	EICS
2024-031 Product Manager Workday/EAMS	1	$ 157,373	$ 157,373	BDS
			$ 844,805

Deputy Mayor identified risks to Community Engagement & Partnerships:

Re: Engagement & Volunteer Coordinator if not accommodated would support only 1.25 positions across the corporation dedicated to engagement. This approach does not allow for backfill, sustainability or the ability to conduct both the engagement and volunteer portfolios – one would require elimination. Customer service would recognize the most impactful decline in (internal and external) due to a loss of engagement opportunity currently rated as a high standard. Continuity of operations ensuing critical priorities continue to be supported, or a consistent, reliable approach that departments expect.

In 2023 staff in engagement and volunteers area had a direct role in 62 projects YTD. The current contract position supports some of the busiest departments such as

Recreation, Community and Culture, Roads, Parks and Forestry, Finance, Clerks, Transportation and Transit. In addition to these departments, significant projects such as the Resident Roster, One Brand, ward boundary review, complete communities, Food for Feedback, Former Robert Bateman High School and many others that are scheduled for 2024. In addition to this, this position plays a key role in maintaining the city’s engagement portal and calendar. There is a risk of projects such as the Resident Roster being deferred or less than optimal standards of engagement for the client department and the other larger projects should the position not be approved.

The above would be occurring in light of the renewed Community Engagement Charger activities.

Motion Seconded by: Not Required

Share with Senior Staff

Approved as per form by the City Clerk,

Comments:

City Clerk: none

City Manager: none

Motion for Council to Consider:

Redirect $50,000 of funding from the City Bench program in 2024 to the Infrastructure Renewal Reserve Fund and request that the Mayor consider inclusion of City Bench program in the 2025 Budget.

Reason:

This project is to implement the placement of new benches throughout the City. New bench locations will be determined annually by Council members. Bench location requests are often solicited in the early part of the year and installed in the late summer. There are a number of limitations on where a bench can be installed per report ES-40- 21 Appendix A.

Whereas this can be viewed as one way to engage with community members, in a year with significant pressures on capital and staff capacity I believe these should be considered net new infrastructure as this is above and beyond the City’s bench installation and replacement plan.

It is important to note that Hydro Corridors were not candidates in the 2023 Councillor’s Bench program and are under review. It is also important to note that while a choice of Black or Pride Rainbow are both options for benches, there are many ways to signal support to the LGBTQIA2S+ Community across the city.

A pause on this program can also assist Staff with improved well-being and corporate culture as it is a significant effort to communicate, administer, engineer, site visit and procure this initiative through Engineering Services Landscape Architect staff.

Lastly, I view this as an increase in service or capital investment as these are above and beyond what Staff recommend. The Budget Town Hall reported only 22% support for increase in city service.

Question #2- Would you like to see City service increased, stay current or decrease? 362 votes

Increase- 22%
Stay- 67%
Decrease- 11%

Motion Seconded by: Not Required Share with Senior Staff

Approved as per form by the City Clerk,

Comments:

City Clerk: none

City Manager: none

Ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith submits six Motions to amend Mayor's Budget

By Staff

November 18th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

Ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith

The following are the Notice of Motions Councillor Kelvin Galbraith, Ward 1 has submitted

What Councillors want to do for you - or to you; take your pick - with their Motions to amend the Mayor's Budget

By Pepper Parr

November 18^th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

We have begun the process of setting out what each Council member of Council is doing for you or to you with their Notices of Motion; the process that has Council debating the changes they want to see made to the Mayor’s Budget which is now public.

This is a complex subject and the approach to getting a budget in place is just as complex.

The Notices of Motion for Kelvin Galbraith ward 1 Councillor and for Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns are about to be published; the others will follow.

There are a number of links below that will help you get the background information you might find useful.

Staff submit a Motion to amend the Mayor's Budget

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,

Comments:

City Clerk: none

City Manager: none

Procedure for passing a budget with Strong Mayor Powers being used.

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.

At the end of this process, the resulting budget amendment is adopted by the municipality.

Burlington resident thinks a better presentation of budget numbers is necessary - Asks, How will this tax hike make my life better.

By Eric Stern

November 17th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

The following opinion piece first appeared in the Hamilton Spectator earlier this week.

Albert Einstein said, “The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.” If Einstein had lived in Burlington he might have said “The hardest thing in the world to understand is the property tax.”

Being fair to the city, there are two budgets for 2024. The first is called the 2024 Financial Needs and Multi Year Forecast, the second is called the mayor’s proposed budget. For me, the budgets look like a dog’s breakfast; a mix of numbers that most people could hardly make sense of. Any numbers I use here are only from the mayor’s proposed budget.

In Burlington, city, regional and school taxes are mixed into one bill and most of us just look at how much we pay. Joan Little wrote in her recent Hamilton Spectator column, “the increase to the city’s portion of the total tax bill is 4.99 per cent.” Little read this in the mayor’s proposed budget. I thought, 4.99 per cent is close to inflation, so great job everyone.

Meanwhile, in the back of my mind, my bulls–t detector was beeping like a Geiger counter in Chernobyl. After plugging the numbers into an Excel spreadsheet, I found “the city’s revenue from property taxes will increase by 10.21 per cent.” It is amazing what a difference a few words can make. I decided to speak (delegate) to the city council about this increase. Long story short, a city staffer confirmed the city’s revenue from property taxes will increase by 10.21 per cent in 2024.

Is impact a unit of measure? City Staff told Stern the tax increase was going to be 10.21% more than the previous year – see the chart below.

In terms of a household budget, everyone I know looks at what they expect to earn next year and what they expect to spend. The mayor’s proposed budget doesn’t show us anything complicated like that.

When you mix a 10.21 per cent increase in with regional and school taxes you do get the mayor’s 4.99 per cent impact number. Maybe the Mayor should keep on going and mix in income taxes, GST, the carbon tax, etc. Put this way, our property taxes become a very small slice of the total taxes we pay.

Our taxes pay our councillors’ salaries. While I don’t have any hopes for our federal or provincial politicians, I thought these people, who live in our city, and may even be our neighbours, might treat us with respect.

The Town of Oakville manages to show things like increase, impact, revenue and spending. This information is front and centre in its budget document.

If you can find your property tax bills from 2022 and 2023, look at the municipal taxes you paid and work out the increase. My increase was 15.5 per cent.

So, the city’s property tax revenue increased by 15.5 per cent in 2023, and now the mayor wants another increase of 10.21 per cent for 2024.

The impact of a tax isn’t the important number – it is the amount of the tax that concerns people and in the graphic above it is clearly set as 10.21%

Please understand, I am not necessarily against these increases, we live in a beautiful city with great services. For two days I watched city staff present their budget needs to city council and I just didn’t get it; they have to find a better way of explaining how all this additional money will make life better for the people of Burlington.

We live in an age of sound bites. The headline on the mayor’s website reads “Burlington mayor’s budget proposes 4.99 per cent city tax impact.” I hope I have been able to untangle this statement. You can make up your own mind about how our mayor communicates.

In my opinion, Burlington should start sharing important budget numbers like revenue, spending, and taxation in a way the media and taxpayers can easily find and understand them. I hope this request won’t require the city to use expensive consultants, instead they could look at what Oakville is doing and just do the same thing.

Eric Stern moved to Burlington at age 1 and has lived and worked in Burlington for most of his life. A software developer by profession, Eric started and ran a small software company for about 20 years.

He is retired, a volunteer with the Junior Achievement Organization. He started a software company in 1998 that was acquired in 2016, it never grew beyond six employees. Stern describes himself as “comfortable but no Bill Gates.”

Members of Council put forward 54 motions to revise the Mayor's budget - they will be debated on Tuesday

By Pepper Parr

November 17th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

There are a total of 54 Motions from members of Council for changes they would like to see made on the Mayor’s Budget.

They are listed in the document below. The type is rather small – run your cursor over the image to enlarge it.

There is an Appendix that provides detail on the impact each of these Motions would have on the budget – they will be published later in the day.

City Clerk's Office backs down on requiring content of a delegation before it is spoken to at a Council Meeting.

By Pepper Parr

November 17^th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

In a recent notice included in the instruction on delegating to a Standing Committee meeting, the Clerk’s Office included the following:

“It is recommended that virtual delegates include their intended remarks, which will be circulated to all members in advance, as a backup to any disruptions in technology issues that may occur. If you do not wish to delegate, but would like to submit correspondence, please email your comments to clerks@burlington.ca. Any delegation notes and comments will be circulated to members in advance of the meeting and will be attached to the minutes, forming part of the public record.”

Old dogs can learn new tricks – but you have to be very firm with them.

For a period of time the City Clerk was requiring delegates to send their delegation before appearing in front of Council. That over-bearing, authoritarian stand appears to have been leavened by the realization that it wasn’t going to work.

For those who might struggle with the word leavened: quality or element that permeates and modifies or transforms something for the better.

Just shows you can teach an old dog new tricks – but you have to keep your eye them all the time.

Bombers are staying at the Waterfront Hotel

By Staff

November 17^th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

Learned from a reliable Gazette reader that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are staying at the Waterfront Hotel readying for Grey Cup game on Sunday.

Anyone know where they are practising?

There is a decent field behind the former Bateman High school.

And will the cheerleaders be part of what we see on the field in Hamilton on Sunday?

Red coated sentries will guard Spencer Smith Park during the Festival of Lights

By Staff

November 16^th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

It all comes together at 4:00 pm on November 24^th when Lakeshore Road west of Brant suddenly lights up and Spencer Smith Park is guarded by red coated sentries.

It is the beginning of the Annual Festival of Lights and will run from November 24, 2023 to January 8, 2024 from 4:00 PM to Midnight daily. There will be extended hours (all day & night) on Christmas eve, Christmas Day, Orthodox Christmas, New Years Eve.

The lights don’t just pop out of the ground. They are assembled by volunteers who run cable and put up the various parts of each exhibit.

It is one of those kits where some assembly is required.

A volunteer brings the sentries to attention preparing to stand guard over Spencer Smith Park.

Dinovember PA Day at the Library - November 24th

By Staff

November 16th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

To REGISTER click HERE

Louis Riel celebrated by the province: It took us long enough

By Staff

November 16^th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

“On this day in 1885, Louis Riel, an elected Métis leader and founder of Manitoba, was executed for treason.

“We must cherish our inheritance. We must preserve our nationality for the youth of our future. The story should be written down to pass on.”

Looking back, we now recognize him as a highly skilled and visionary politician, a capable negotiator, and a committed advocate for the Métis Nation. Notably, he also served as an elected member of the House of Commons, contributing significantly to the political landscape of his era.

Riel is now seen as a defender of rights and a champion of Indigenous language and culture. Métis communities across Canada celebrate Louis Riel for preserving their identity, political contributions, and history.

As the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) marks its 30^th anniversary, we celebrate the significant contributions of Métis people, including Louis Riel, to the fabric of this country.

To honour Louis Riel Day, representatives from the Métis Nation of Ontario will be raising the Métis flag used by MNO at Queen’s Park today. I encourage all Ontarians to take the opportunity to learn more about Riel and the Métis Nation, exploring their history, culture, and valuable contributions.” It isn’t a pleasant story

The only comment that can be made today is: It took us long enough.

How to make $10 donation result in $62.50 of fresh food and groceries - Food for Life wants to show you how they do that

By Staff

November 16^th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

The holidays are a joyful time for many of us. Food is often a cherished part of the season — cooking and baking from family recipes and sharing it with loved ones.

Unfortunately, the holidays can be stressful and disappointing for some in our community. We’ve seen our neighbours struggling with rising costs, including rent and food. Some find they need food support for the first time in their lives.

Today, you can increase your impact through an exciting opportunity. When you make a holiday donation to Food for Life, it will be matched up to $100,000 by The Sprott Foundation, doubling its value.

Please don’t delay: for your gift to qualify for this extraordinary match, we must receive it by December 31.

Food for Life Staff stocking the shelves.

Donors and volunteers like you are the backbone of our community. Your support nourishes families and transforms lives with a remarkable return on investment: every $10 donation results in $62.50 of fresh food and groceries being shared. And through this matching offer, you will have 2X the impact!

Your generous gift will make an immediate difference, supporting about 4,000 households each week.

We believe everyone deserves access to nourishing food, regardless of their circumstances. When people are hungry, nothing else matters. It begins with food.

Together, let’s make a lasting difference in the lives of those who need it most. Please share your generous holiday gift today — the sooner it’s received, the sooner it can help more families especially when it is doubled in value by The Sprott Foundation through this special matching offer!

Coca Cola Caravan will be at Sobeys on Brant Wednesday

By Staff

November 16^th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

The Coca-Cola^® Holiday Caravan just embarked on its national tour today and will be coming to Burlington on Wednesday, November 22, to bring a taste of the holidays to the city this holiday season.

Guests will get to enjoy an interactive, festive experience including a meet and greet and free holiday photo with Santa, and a complimentary Coca-Cola beverage or hot chocolate or latte made with fairlife milk.

Collard now the Chair of Halton District School Board trustees

By Pepper Parr

November 16^th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

Amy Collard

The good news coming out of the Halton District School Board is the decision the trustees made to appoint Amy Collard as the Chair.

She is smart but also fearless and has experience in keeping Directors of Education on their toes and holding staff to account.

We always thought Collard was ready for a seat at City Council – she once told us she was “interested” but it didn’t seem to go further than that.

What is it so hard for employers to pay their staff a Living Wage ?

By Staff

November 15th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

A Living Wage – just pay it and adjust your prices (in the case of a municipality adjust the taxes). The wage paid will work its way into the economy giving people more in the way of money they can spend.

The hospitality sector relies on the tips people pay to get away with less than a living wage.

The question is: How many city of Burlington staff are being paid less than this living wage?

A decal like this on every city vehicle would make people proud of the city they live in. It is doable – something the City Manager could initiate – maybe? Make it his parting gift to the city.

The Living Wage Network has a program that certifies employers who pay a Living Wage and provides decals for the employers vehicles. Is there any reason Burlington doesn’t apply for certification?

That would put some meat on the bone the city keeps gnawing away at Burlington being the best mid-sized cities in Canada to live in.

There is more to come on this issue

The signatures on Petition asking Council to STOP the Proposed 2024 Property Tax Increase grows daily

By Pepper Parr

November 15, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

Chugging along.

Signatures at noon on the 15th. Growing at about 50 a day.

The petition asking Council to STOP the Proposed 2024 Property Tax Increase grows daily.

Will it make a difference?

It will be interesting to see what members of Council put forward in the way of Motions to change the budget Mayor Meed Ward put on the table.

This story is going to be front page for awhile yet.

Burlington’s first Integrated Mobility Plan approved by City Council

By Staff

November 15th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

Burlington has created its first Integrated Mobility Plan (IMP) to guide how people and goods move in and through the city for the next 30 years. The Integrated Mobility Plan Final Report was presented and approved by Burlington City Council on Nov. 14 and approved unanimously.

Several delegations spoke at the Community Planning, Regulation & Mobility (CPRM) Committee in support of the IMP on Tuesday, Oct. 31.

The Integrated Mobility Plan

The IMP is a balance of innovative policies, active programs and capital projects that will guide how Burlington builds and operates a sustainable transportation system city-wide. Together, these initiatives will make getting around Burlington safe, accessible, sustainable, balanced and liveable.

The plan has three key areas for action:

1. Implement transportation network improvements through capital planning and budget,
2. Guide future studies, plans and capital projects to meet the goals of the IMP and
3. Enhance and develop innovative programs to support the implementation of the plan.

Key elements of the integrated network approach include:

- Only widening streets if it improves walking, cycling, transit or safety.
- Giving the right-of-way to pedestrians, cyclists, transit users or for safety.
- Focusing multi-modal corridors, like sidewalks, bike lanes and cut throughs, in growth areas.
- Developing transit infrastructure to improve bus service and reduce transit delays.
- Developing high-quality cycling lanes and pathways for cyclists of all ages and abilities.
- Improving walkability in employment, future growth and rural areas.
- Create new connections for pedestrians and cyclists across the QEW and rail lines.

The IMP provides the vision for the City’s future transportation network and outlines the policy, programs and capital projects needed to meet long-term mobility goals for the next three decades. Council will set and manage how the plan is implemented through the City’s annual capital and operating budgets, and as part of the Multi-year Community Investment Plan (MCIP).

The IMP will be reviewed and refreshed on a 5-year cycle, incorporating updated population and employment forecasts, refining the strategic transportation demand model, and reporting on actual mode share usage and refining targets, where necessary. The IMP provides valuable guidance and input into the 5-year Transit Business Plan and will complement the transit planning.

Anyone who lives in Burlington, or travels to or through Burlington, was encouraged to get involved in the numerous stages of the project on getinvolvedburlington.ca/imp. Resident feedback was used to confirm the IMP vision, values and goal statements. Those concepts generally define the desired transportation system for the Burlington of the future. Staff has also used public feedback to help identify what aspects of our current transportation systems are not in line with where we want to end up in the future. The project page outlines the key dates from the past three years.

When a traffic barrier is put in place on Lakeshore traffic is worse than at a crawl. It just isn’t possible to reduce traffic on this road and with the projected population growth – someone is going to have to find a solution.

Burlington City Council has recognized that relying on a car-centric plan where streets are widened to add more room for cars is not the solution to solve traffic congestion. This creates a transportation network that does not offer other ways to get around, does not support the City’s growth strategy and has negative impacts on the environment and climate by adding to greenhouse gas levels.

In 2019, Council directed staff to form the IMP so that there could be no new road widenings for cars. Instead, the City chose to adopt a sustainable and integrated approach to offer its residents choices in how they get around Burlington.

For more information about Burlington’s Integrated Mobility Plan, please visit burlington.ca/IMP.

Kaylan Edgcumbe listening to a resident.

Kaylan Edgcumbe, Manager, Integrated Mobility: “The Integrated Mobility Plan represents an innovative approach to integrated mobility planning and provides a framework for responding to future travel demand associated with intensification. It has been designed to meet the 2015-2040 Strategic Plan goals to enable ‘people and goods move through the city more efficiently and safely’ and provide ‘more mobility choice within the city and region through improved public transportation, active transportation and community-responsive growth management to allow more residents to get where they need to go more efficiently.’

“The plan sets a framework to re-balance the existing transportation network through adding people-carrying capacity by offering additional travel options to existing streets and replacing the traditional strategy of creating new auto capacity through road widenings. From conceptualization to implementation and operation, the IMP provides the city with a strategy for transforming mobility to 2051 and beyond.”

The document that sets out the why of an Integrated Mobility Plan was 250 pages long. Did every member of Council read the report from end to end? How many residnets read the report?

It is complex – and no matter what is done – there is only so much road space and the city can’t add any more

Not much traffic on the streets – this was before the Brant Museum underwent a major change. With 29,000 new resident expected by 2031 traffic will be much heavier.

Could the Queen's Head become part of the redesign of Civic Square ?

By Pepper Parr

November 15^th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

At the November 14^th City Council meeting a decision to issue a Notice of Intent to designate a property got a lot of discussion.

The Queen’s Head, a popular watering hole, was getting a new tenant and there was concern that the property could change hands and that it would be wise to designate it as a Heritage property.

While very unlikely, John O’Reilly, the Staff member who worked on Heritage issues (he has moved on to site planning) produced a report on the history of the building and its importance to the city and that designating it would be prudent..

What was a hotel in 1915 at the corner of Elgin and Brant street looking north.

In comments he made to a citizen O’Reilly said: “Staff consider it urgent because of a high level of public interest in seeing the building receive more permanent heritage protection following closure of the Queens Head Pub and a high degree of uncertainty about the future of the building. Ever since the Queen’s Head closed, the public has been calling and emailing to confirm the building has heritage protection. Separately, the heritage committee recommended that the Council designate the building at their September meeting. The building has long been recognized in city planning documents as an important landmark and a significant piece of history.

There is going to be a new tenant on the ground floor – the owner of the building, Sherwood Holdings, chose not to renew the lease that Ed Catly had on the property for more than 20 years. Owners have the right to determine who their commercial tenants will be.

A radial electric street car used to run along Elgin. Behind one of the rail cars is the location of Kelly’s Bake Shop. It is expected to disappear when a 17 storey tower goes up on the site. That 17 storeys might grow into 28.

The space is currently undergoing a renovation and is said to reopen in April of next year. That event just might be worth a flag raising.

There is a bigger opportunity here – given that the city is going to refurbish Civic Square and given that the north side of the Queen’s Head building faces the Square – why not take down the fence that separate the two properties – Civic Square and the Queen’s Head – and include what was once a hotel as part of the Square?

The building is on the Registry but not designated. O’Reilly was advising that a Notice of Intent to designate 400 Brant – you know it is as the Queen’s Head. The city doesn’t want anyone tearing it down, a very unlikely event.

At that the same time the city is looking for ways to make Civic Square a more inviting place – something that lets people use the space.

The North side of the Queen’s Head: Remove the fence, let the vehicles find a different place to park and a major piece of the city’s history could become part of Civic Square.

The north side of the Queen’s Head faces Civic Square – there is a fence that separates the two properties.

Is there a way to integrate the two – making a major piece of history part of a a Civic Square with a new look that wil include a new entrance to City Hall ?

City has to come up with $1,323,432.07 to pay for its share of Civic Square redesign

By Pepper Parr

November 15^th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

Much of the funding municipalities get comes from specific federal and provincial programs that a city can apply for. There is a Staff member whose full time job is to watch for all the opportunities that come up and to file an application if the city thinks it fits with the Strategic Plan and there is a benefit to the community.

The federal Investing in Canada Infrastructure (ICIP) Program – Community, Culture and Recreation Stream was a program Burlington sent an application in for funding to revitalize Civic Square.

The City has funding to refurbish and revitalize Civic Square

It was a cost sharing program, between the Federal, Provincial and Municipal government.

The cost share breakdown is Federal – 40%, Provincial – 33.33% and municipal 26.67%.

The Government of Canada is investing $1,984,900. The Government of Ontario is providing $1,653,917.93, while the City of Burlington is investing $1,323,432.07.

Burlington has to come up with that $1.3 million at a time when there is significant concern over the proposed tax rate from the city’s Finance Department who put out 7.8% as the increase over last year needed to keep the wheels turning at city hall.

Was that a wise decision to make at this point in time? City administration thought it was and asked people to send along any ideas they might have.

It was interesting to note that all the work done to refurbish and revitalize the ground floor of city hall was done with zero input from the people who pay the bills.

It is certainly a very different ground floor. On the two occasions I was in the building recently the place was barren. During one half hour session while I waited for someone to find the security officer – two people entered the building.

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The following are the Notice of Motions Councillor Kelvin Galbraith, Ward 1 has submitted

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Allow for volunteers to run the program as much as possible.

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2024 Budget Amendment

FROM: Transit & Finance Departments

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In-year budget amendments

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The Integrated Mobility Plan

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