By Pepper Parr
July 4th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Council will debate the tax increases they expect to impose during a meeting on Monday.
They will dance around a lot of numbers – the ones that count and set out for you below.
The number that matter is the top line; that is the amount the city is going to levy.
When the city tax levy is added to the total tax bill it looks lower.
The city collects taxes for the Region and the Boards of Education
How did they get to the 7.97?
The Finance people, amongst the best in the province have done a very good job cutting and chopping – they are up against hard reality. The challenge for the taxpayers is to hope that the members of Council will spend more conservatively.
Tough weeks ahead for the city treasurer.
Do believe the City at this time should be more frugal sticking to the bare bones of tax management and forget all the frills and niceties that we are seeing thrown into the taxpayers increases.
It always fascinates me how the Board of Education and the Region manage to bring in tax increases that are so much less than the City. Why? It’s also curious how these “trial balloons” get floated just before the budget discussions begin suggesting how drastic the increases will be, and then when they get pared back taxpayers are expected to clap their hands, yell “hallelujah”, and comment on how prudent the City has been.
The other thing I would love to see is how the City’s key performance indicators stack up against other municipalities. For instance, how does our public transportation budget compare with other municipalities based on variables such as cost per rider, maintenance, replacement costs, etc.? How does our budget for capital improvements and upgrades for roads and sewers compare? How does the City’s budget for by-law enforcement compare, as well as things like the number of complaints, number of inspectors, etc.? Important metrics, but somehow curiously absent in these budgetary discussions. Taxpayers are given a load of amalgamated financial statements to digest, and somehow this is supposed to instigate an insightful discussion around budget expenditures.
There is an organization that actually benchmarks key performance indicators for participating municipal governments:
http://mbncanada.ca/practice/by-law-enforcement/
Interesting though how Burlington isn’t a contributor. Halton is though. It begs another question: Why?
In short, show us the benchmark comparators and the key performance indicators so we can get a real handle on just how well the City is doing, and where additional funding may be warranted. The second part is: let’s open up a substantive discussion on what needs to be curtailed or eliminated, and where efficiencies can be had. To start with, frills like rainbow sidewalks can go. I also don’t need street cleaners down my street seven times in one day.
Tough years ahead for the taxpayer.
So much for fixed income seniors and affordability in general for all citizens. Personally I think current council and prospective councilors should commit to reducing these projected increases by 50% and if not are unwilling lets vote them out or not elect them.
Question what measure are you using to rate the City’s financial folk among the best in the Province and how do the provincial folk stack up against other provinces and jurisdiction’s?