Council finalizes budget focused on essentials, front line services and preparing for growth

By Staff

November 29th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

In their media release the City communications department said: More information about the municipal budget process under Bill 3, the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022, can be found on the Provincial website.

They got that part wron The Strong Mayor legislation that applied to Burlington is set out in Bill 39

A link to that Bill is set out below along with the regulations.  Bill 39 gave Mayor Meed Ward the authority to put forward a budget, which she did.  However, the Mayor was not required to put forward a budget – she chose to do so

At today’s Special Council Meeting, Burlington City Council finalized the 2024 budget. Next year’s budget is focused on essentials, front line services and preparing for growth.

The City’s portion of the overall tax increase is 4.99%. When blended with Halton Region’s forecasted increase and no change to the Boards of Education, this results in an overall tax increase of 6.68%. This translates to $57.53 increase per $100,000 of urban residential assessment.

The property tax bill is made up of three portions, the City of Burlington (50.5%), Halton Region (32.8%), and the Boards of Education (16.7%).

The 2024 budget has been broken down into three categories:

Essentials – This area covers projects and items the City of Burlington must address and/or have already committed to, such as cost of inflation, necessary capital projects and infrastructure renewal.

Frontline Service – This area covers enhanced services that directly improves the quality of life of Burlington residents.

Planning for Growth – This area plans for and prepares for the expected increase in population, our Community Investment Plan, and allow us to catch up and prepare for the future.

This was the first budget under the new provincially legislated Strong Mayor Powers. The Mayor proposed the budget for 2024. The budget was based on the 2024 Financial Needs and Multi-Year Forecast Reference Document prepared by staff earlier this year.

Council brought 62 changes through amendment motions to modify the budget. Of those amendments, 27 were adopted into the budget. These were presented at Committee meetings on Nov. 21 and 23 and the Special Council Meeting on Nov. 28. The budget was finalized at the Special Council Meeting on Nov. 28.

Key investments

• Enhancing frontline service delivery with additional transit operators, firefighters, by-law licensing clerks and customer experience staff to respond to your concerns
• Funding for 3 new community facilities – Skyway Community Centre, the newly renovated Mountainside pool and the former Robert Bateman High School
• $88.6 million of capital investment in 2024 to keep our infrastructure assets like buildings, roads and parks in a state of good repair
• Funding dedicated to future land and facility needs for our growing and changing community
• Free all-day transit for Seniors
• Support for our Community Planning Housing Initiative
• Support to bring the city’s Information Technology (IT) infrastructure into the 21st century

Joint statement from Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and Deputy Mayor for Strategy and Budgets Paul Sharman

“We know these are difficult times for everyone with increased living and housing costs and Council had to make some difficult budget decisions. Working with each other and staff, while hearing from the community, we balanced the needs of the city with our current affordability crisis as best we could. At the end of the day, this is a Mayor and Council budget that focuses investments on essentials, frontline services and planning for future growth. It was created through a lot of hard work and learning through a new provincially-legislated budget process this year. It is our hope this budget sets us up for success in 2024 and for years to come in creating an inclusive, affordable, eco-friendly and caring community for all our neighbours. The 2024 Budget impacts people through the programs and services they receive every day in our city. Each time you have your road plowed, use a City park or trail, or cool off in a municipal pool or splash pad, you are using a City service and seeing your tax dollars at work. This budget continues to build on investments our community has asked for and needs and will only improve Burlington today and into the future.”

Burlington Chief Financial Officer, Joan Ford said: “The adoption of this budget gives much needed support to essential city projects, front line services and infrastructure. As this was our first time establishing a budget under the Strong Mayor Powers, I’m thankful for the work and dedication of City staff and the collaboration with the Mayor, Deputy Mayor for Strategy and Budgets and members of Council to support this new process.

Ford announced that the 2024 budget would be her last.

The City’s mission continues to be to balance the needs of all residents both today and in the future while maintaining the high quality of services that residents enjoy.”

In their media release the City communications department said: More information about the municipal budget process under Bill 3, the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022, can be found on the Provincial website.

This is just plain not true.  The Strong Mayor legislation that applied to Burlington is set out in Bill 39

A link to that Bill is set out below along with the regulations.  Bill 39 gave Mayor Meed Ward the authority to put forward a budget, which she did.  However, the Mayor was not required to put forward a budget – she chose to do so.

Bill 3: Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022 Applies to Toronto and Ottawa
Bill 39: Better Municipal Governance Act, 2022    Applies to Burlington and other Ontario municipalities
O. Reg. 530/22 – Municipal Act