“We do try to strike a balance between affordability, providing appropriate service levels, and financial sustainability,” says Mayor Marianne Meed Ward. The 2023 Budget Meeting was held virtually on January 19, 2023, and it was hosted by the mayor, with a number of key panelists including the city’s chief financial officer, Joan Ford.
This balance mentioned by the mayor can be arguably difficult to understand given the proposal of a property tax increase to the tune of 7.08% in 2023. For some Burlington residents, this tax hike doesn’t appear to ring true to the city’s stance on financial responsibility given that this is considerably higher than in prior years.
Nearly three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflationary increases, and fuel costs, combined with an aging infrastructure and an investment in community services that hasn’t kept pace, all lead to one conclusion: the city is playing catch up.
Now, couple that with not adequately funding key maintenance projects that include road and technology advancements, and the city finds itself with a very significant problem that requires immediate attention to keep up with growth. More specifically, information technology equipment and software that hasn’t been updated over the years now requires a commitment of $15–20 million to update accordingly, plus $40 million for the Skyway Community Centre, which would have been half that two years ago should the city have started the project then, and of course, the Robert Bateman High School redesign, which will require significant investment.
So, why the catch-up? According to council staff at the city’s public meeting, there were no tax increases seen in the ‘90s for approximately seven years, and as a direct result, long-term integral updates to facilities and programs were not on the forefront, given the current need to provide or improve community centres and services. Had there been a tax increase of only 1% per year, the city would have had $150 million in reserves today. What’s more, city reserve funds were being dipped into over the years to continue to keep taxes low. The result? As of September 2022, city reserve funds are not meeting target.
This year’s budget will support the following projects: construction of the Skyway Community Centre, an expansion of the city’s existing operations campus, and phase one of the Bateman project.
Other supports covered by the budget include hiring additional firefighters, creation of a new compliance department, the coyote response strategy, automated speed enforcement programs, expanding transit services, implementing a home energy retrofit program, an increased annual grant provided to the Sound of Music festival, and lastly, funding to celebrate Burlington’s 150th anniversary in 2023.
A financial condition assessment to evaluate the city’s overall financial health will be conducted sometime in 2023.
How will this proposed property tax affect Burlington residents? If approved, the new tax rate of 7.08% will equate to an increase of approximately $56.74 per $100,000 of residential property value annually, or $4.73 monthly. Residents can rest easy for now as this tax increase will be based on the assessed property values of 2016, unless improvements have been made to the property that required reassessments following that year. This will be applicable to 2023, but only until the province decides to lift the provincially-imposed pause on new reassessments.
Both the city and region offer programs to help those who are experiencing affordability challenges with their property taxes.
The 2023 budget review and approval will be held on February 6, 7, and 9, 2023, with council approval to be held on February 14, 2023.
