Have you opened the envelope that has your tax bill inside it.

By Pepper Parr

May 27th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

Have you opened up that envelope from the city yet?

The one with your tax bill in it?

Have you gone through your household finance papers and compared the current tax bill with what you were paying last year ?

A lot of questions there – and reasonable people should be asking questions is as well.

What is the tax money being spent on? There is a brochure along with the tax bill – look at carefully. This is how your tax money is being spent.

The tax bill you got this week is higher than the tax bill you are going to get next year. And, if the city projections are correct, it will not be until the tax bill you get for the 2025 city fiscal year when you can expect to see a reduction in the taxes you are paying.

Every municipality has some tough decisions to make.

The pandemic that is now seen as an endemic – we are now getting a better idea on just how much damage was done during the two years plus that we were wearing masks and living with lock downs.

The housing issues are at the critical point but we have yet to see a really sound policy from the provincial level other than making wet lands available to the development community and requiring municipalities to sign a pledge to build a specific number of new homes within a specific time frame.

The city can’t do much on its own. However …

The city of Burlington own a significant amount of land. The Gazette would like to see a Council member with the courage to move a Staff Direction for a report on just how much land the city owns and is there any city owned land that can be used for affordable housing.

At this point the policy seems to be waiting for school board property to become available.

There are seven people who determine what your taxes will be. Press them to be more creative and explain just what they are spending your money on. The brochure isn’t good enough.

In her regular newsletter to the community Mayor Meed Ward makes mention that Council Approves 2023 Tax Levy Bylaw but says nothing about the impact the increase is going to have on households and what has been projected in the way of tax increases for the next two years.

Not a word other than to say there is some relief for people who are already under serious financial pressure.

Mayor Meed Ward is on the left almost across from the Minister of Health who was at a meeting of the Ontario Big City Mayors. She is beside Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie who stepped down as Chair while she is considering a run for the Liberal Part leadership.

We did learn that Meed Ward is now the Chair of the Ontario Big City Mayors group; they lobby the province and the federal government on municipal issues.  Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie stepped down and is expected to announce her plans to run for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party.  Crombie is expected to be named the Leader of the party at a leadership meeting in December.  Her changes of defeating Premier Doug Ford are better than good BUT in the world of politics nothing is ever certain.