By Joe Gaetan
February 15th, 2026
BURLINGTON, ON
The issue raised in this article goes directly to the heart of transparency and accountability in municipal governance.
From a news report in the Gazette.
It’s Friday afternoon. The city is heading into a long weekend – Family Day on Monday.
The agenda for the Council meeting is on line. Some people make a point of checking it out.
There are several reasons to at least glance at it.
There is an item on the agenda that, if passed, would have the city not collecting development charges.
The meeting agenda for this coming Tuesday’s Regular Meeting of Council has not been made available to the public.
People who want to delegate have to register by noon on the business day before the meeting.
City Hall will close at the end of the day.
Quite why the City Clerk would let something happen is beyond understanding.
One would have thought that at least one Council member would have seen the problem and taken corrective action.
A decision not to collect Development Charges has the very real risk of costing the city a big bundle of money. And that money will eventually come out of the pockets of the taxpayers.
Link to the complete article.
The City bylaw that governs council meetings consists of more than minor administrative detail – it is a safeguard. The requirement that agendas be posted at least seventy-two hours before a regular Council meeting exists so that members of the public can review the business before Council, assess its implications, and decide whether to delegate. Without that notice, meaningful public participation becomes practically impossible. What is not known is when the 72 hour clock starts ticking. As this is a long weekend, the 72 hour notice requirement is technically attainable.
The Clerk’s role under section 7.1 includes ensuring notice of meetings is provided as set out in the by-law.
However, another section of the bylaw states that lack of receipt of notice does not invalidate a meeting. That clause should not be interpreted as a license to dilute transparency. It protects the City from technical challenges – it does not excuse avoidable failures in providing proper notice.
In a matter as significant as potentially foregoing Development Charges – with real financial consequences for taxpayers – the public deserves clear, timely disclosure. Seventy-two hours is not excessive; it is the minimum standard set by Council itself.
If the agenda was not posted within the prescribed time frame, that raises legitimate questions about the City’s procedural rules. More importantly, it undermines public confidence. Deferral, as suggested, may well be the prudent course – not only to clarify the financial implications, but to restore public trust in the process.
Transparency is not a courtesy. It is a condition of accountable government.
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I agree ..there were grants that the city would have qualified for if they had addressed the housing issue in a timely manner .where is the planning and direction ..? Unbelievable the spending on things that don’t matter and completely ignoring things that do ..
I have sent an email to the Mayor and my ward councillor indicating that I was AGAINST this proposed moratorium on development charges.
Why would Council think that this would encourage more development? Do they honestly think that this would lower the prices for the buyers?
Perhaps the bigger issue is that Burlington is not meeting its target in housing units for the money received from the government?
One of the reasons that condos are not selling is because these developers have not built what purchasers want. Tiny units and in some cases no parking spots in cities like Burlington that do not have good public transit.
Why should taxpayer dollars be used to subsidize developers. Perhaps all residents should ask for a moratorium for 2 years on not having to pay their property taxes?
I encourage everyone to send an email to the mayor and their ward councillor today before the Feb. 17th meeting indicating that this suspension of development charges not happen.
Transparency has always been an issue why are people so surprised. “The best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour”.
Re Mayor Meed Ward using Strong Mayor Powers without notice to the public, to implement a 2 year freeze on Development Charges for developers.
This could cost Burlington property tax payers up to an additional 7.8% in their property tax bills over and above our regular taxes!!
Who is Mayor Meed Ward working for?
Is our Burlington Mayor working for the developers?
Or is our Burlington Mayor working for Burlington residents?
Remember this in the October 2026 Municipal Election.
Time for a change in October 2026!!
The agenda was published within the required 72 hour time period.
The issue is that delegates should be able to register on Monday for the meeting on Tuesday. The problem is that Monday is a statutory holiday.
The same problem occurred on the Thanksgiving Weekend in 2024.
The clerks department avoided the registration issue by releasing the agenda on the Thursday.
Bigger problem is the Mayor issuing a Stong Mayor direction without letting the public know. No press release from the city , nothing on her social media channels. The direction was posted to the city website, but no one checks that regularly.