Tax fairness for Ward 15 is a priority

Since becoming a City Councillor in mid-November, I have been asked many times, “What was your biggest surprise after arriving at City Hall?” My response, that things are just as bad as I thought they were.

I ran for Council because I saw a city in decline. Sadly, several of the services that people express the most concern about have been the most notoriously underfunded by previous Councils. Things have caught up to us on the fiscal front. Environmental contamination, crumbling waste/water infrastructure, and growing homelessness dominate headlines. While additional snow clearing costs, policing needs, and social service investments are required.

Things became more complicated when the Province introduced and passed Bill 23. Lands were ordered removed from the GreenBelt for development and, according to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), $8.2 billion of costs was downloaded onto Ontario municipalities by reducing the financial obligations of developers to pay development fees used to fund municipal infrastructure.

During the municipal election campaign, distinct references were made to a potential municipal tax increase of 14%. That was a scary high number. When I sat around the Council table for the first time, there was a fear of a double-digit tax increase. Still too high. Though I supported the police budget early in the process – it makes up 18% of the City’s budget - there was still work to be done to meet the needs of our community, while maintaining fairness to taxpayers. By March, Council colleagues and I reduced the number to 6.7%. Finally, the Mayor and I worked closely to leverage reserve funding, reducing the tax hit even further to 5.84%. By comparison, Burlington raised its taxes by 7.52% this year.

All that said, I am proud this budget will make strategic investment in addressing the housing crisis, provide enhancements to critical services, and improve support for our ageing and growing population. Enhanced paramedic services, climate change initiatives, and investment in our ailing infrastructure and roads are also included. In politics, they say that budgets are about priorities. For me, tax fairness for Ward 15 is that priority, while simultaneously removing the surprises at City Hall.