Burlington mayor going with 4.99% proposed budget hike for 2024

Burlington, Ont., residents will get a first look at the 2024 budget process on Nov. 2 when council mulls over proposed levies that, at most, could be over seven per cent.

Burlington, Ont.’s mayor says her proposed 4.99 per cent municipal tax increase has much to do with a focus on “need to have” items the community will want delivered through the 2024 budget.

Marianne Meed Ward says the bulk of the cash will take care of the “essentials” city staff are contractually obligated to handle, like infrastructure and “state of good repair” items amid extraordinarily tough times.

“We don’t want our roads, community centres and parks falling apart,” Meed Ward said.

“(We) also looked at front-line services because even as residents are saying ‘please don’t raise our taxes’ they’re also asking for enhanced and new services, things like plowing pathways to schools so that kids can choose to walk rather than be driven.”

The province’s housing crisis and the accompanying plan for growth will impact taxpayers as well in the coming years with an adopted target of 29,000 new homes, which Meed Ward says need to be “complete communities.”

“I’ve put some money in the budget to prepare for all of the growth that is coming and make sure we maintain that quality of life,” she said.

Including the Region of Halton and education contributions, estimated at 1.33 per cent, taxpayers could be enduring a total impact in the 6.33 per cent range, according to Meed Ward’s assessment.

It’s lower than what the city’s finance staff came up with, a 6.28 per cent increase with a total levy of 7.61 per cent for 2024.