By Pepper Parr
January 28th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
City Council meets this evening to put the official stamp to issues that were discussed at the Standing committee level earlier in the month.
We will learn who Council wants to see appointed to the numerous Advisory Committees the city has in place. There were a number of people who thought the way Advisory Councils were formed, staffed and funded needed a full re-appraisal – won’t happen this year; perhaps next.
There is a new committee that is taking a look at the way the city is going to structure the matter of Development Charges – that is the sum of money developers pay – up front- for the cost of building new or adding to existing infrastructure. A major major concern to the development community.
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward
Councillor Paul Sharman
Mayor Meed Ward and Councillor Sharman will head up the Development Charges Consultation Committee.
Later in the week they move into some heavy duty budget discussions and begin to suss out what the final tax rate is going to be.
Burlington has borne the brunt of close to consistent 4% increases for the past eight years – numbers like that are neither economically or politically sustainable – where the cuts are going to take place is an unknown at this point.
This council did ask the Finance department to tell them what would have to go if there were a 2%, 3 % and a 3.25% tax increase. There is a link to the answer staff gave at the bottom of this article.
The Finance people set out a number of scenarios but none of them made mention of significant cuts in the staff compliment.
In 2017 the city spent $106,729,690 on Human Resources
In 2018 the budget for Human Resources was $115,341,659 and the actual $112,655,298
The budget for 2019 is pegged at $120,828,358 – that is an increase of $14 million over a two year period which looks a little steep.
During one of the recent Council Workshops Angelo Bentivegna, Ward 6 City and Regional Councillor coined a phrase that we can expect to hear frequently. He wants council to come up with ways to re-think, re-tool, and re-invent how we do business.
The Gazette tried to get Bentivegna to expand on this line of thinking – the Council member suddenly went mute. We are going to have to listen closely to what the Council member has to say in public if we are to get the full measure of the man.
It is fairly clear that this council wants to pass a budget that results in a lower tax rate. The problem is that other than the Mayor and Paul Sharman, Councillor for Ward 5, none has any experience with a municipal budget.
Councillor Lisa Kearns
Chair of the Budget Committee, ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns is doing fine so far keeping things on track and moving the agenda forward. If she stays on her current trajectory she will turn out to be a very efficient and knowledgeable budget chair. There is just a lot to learn and her background with things municipal is thin.
When Councillor Sharman was first elected in 2010 he took to financial matters like a bull in a china shop – while he didn’t make any friends he did push his colleagues to produce a 0% increase that year.
Will he do something similar this year? Don’t bet on it.
Sharman will be supportive but don’t expect him to lead – that doesn’t fit in with his longer term objective. Recall that when Sharman first filed nomination papers with the City Clerk in 2010 it was for the Office of Mayor. He withdrew those papers when Rick Goldring filed papers for that job and came back with nominations forms for the ward 5 seat that Goldring was about to vacate.
Rick Goldring once said that Paul Sharman was one of the best strategic thinkers he had ever met. Don’t expect Sharman to put that reference on his Linked in page but keep it in mind as we watch how this new council evolves.
Related news stories:
Where can council cut spending? Here, here and here.
In your article you mention that in 2010 Paul Sharman insisted that the council vote on 0% tax increase, well now we are paying the piper.
The tax increase needs to reflect what Burlington needs. The City needs to increase its revenue by thinking outside the box. The Burlington Performing Arts Centre cannot support itself and will always be dependent on tax payer dollars unless it becomes more than a preforming art centre. Why not rent out the open space to weddings, receptions, business venues? An imaginative marketing plan should be in place.
We are millions of dollars behind in infrastructure. Our Transit System needs major upgrading. Where do you think this money comes from – taxes?
Do we really need a Deputy City Manager? Should we be funding the staffing for the new Joseph Brant Museum?
Lower taxes at this point in time will only make a bad situation worse. Increasing development charges is not the answer.
The nice to haves need to be put aside for the need to haves.