Council fails budget meeting test
What was listed as Burlington’s Nov. 30 budget meeting was a total disaster. The budget takes months to prepare, after consultation with council and departments. Then it is presented by Joan Ford, our chief financial officer (CFO), and her superb staff. In nonelection years it is usually approved by Christmas.
When it meets city and taxpayer needs, it goes to our CFO. She checks it for financial ramifications, and if she alters it, explains changes. Report F-36-21-1 is available online, and worth reading — especially Appendix D, that details answers to questions posed by council.
Operating and capital budgets are presented simultaneously.
Burlington uses what it calls “BAR” forms (budget action requests) for councillors, who detail items they want changed, amounts involved, and the rationale. This year Mayor Marianne Meed Ward’s was 14 pages and well detailed. Other councillors’ lists varied from none to long.
The list missing was that of Lisa Kearns, which surprised me. (She believes the budget is a responsible one). For the past four weeks she’d been “freaking out” about a breast cancer scare, running between doctors, testing and the Jo Brant Complete Breast Clinic, which she can’t praise highly enough. She believes she’s OK.
The mayor cited residents’ desires to keep taxes down. No one likes increases. But the alternative is to cut services and reduce maintenance of roads and buildings.
Just weeks ago, council was advised it must increase maintenance spending or prepare for very costly future rebuilds. Overtime was questioned, but was incurred because of inadequate staffing. And because Burlington pays less than nearby competitors, it has become a training ground, where once trained, staff leave for higher wages. Pay increases are essential in this circumstance. Construction contract costs rose by about 20 per cent in 2021 — another cost factor. And who can guess the cost implications of increasingly freaky weather?
Her suggestions contained some savings, but also proposed phasing in some costs, and reducing amounts set by our financial team to keep reserves healthy. But they also necessitate higher increases from 2023 on — after the election. Our CFO already warned of escalating cost pressures the city faces the next few years, and for the first time in memory, 2021 will end with no surplus (often around $1 million). Surpluses are used to replenish reserves and reduce taxes.
The mayor noted there are applications for about 19,000 housing units, which will yield more taxes to ease the burden. But they are mainly condos, with several underground parking levels, some requiring lengthy construction. Bridgewater began in 2013, and is just being taxed now. Adi’s excavating started in late 2019, and its parking garage is still storeys below grade level.
The budget meeting went off the rails when a majority didn’t agree with her proposals. That was compounded by Chair Rory Nisan, who declined to call a vote on a motion that offered many of the mayor’s proposals, knowing it would lose 4-3, and called a 10-minute break. After the break, members agreed to reconvene Dec 2.
Some criticized his chairing, to which he responded that he was just trying to save the budget. It looked like trying to prevent defeat of the mayor’s items. They decided to reconvene Dec 9.
Paul Sharman, with his accounting background, claims this mess results from a seven-year stretch when councils prided themselves on not raising taxes, punting catch-up to a future time — today!
Understandably, councillors don’t want a big tax hike in an election year — 2022’s is Oct. 24. But no Burlington candidate can deliver tax cuts today — a standard promise during campaigns. Some will have never even read a budget.
The Dec. 9 meeting is worrisome, tacked on at the end of another meeting. Will 2022’s be a responsible budget or an expedient one, ensuring steeper future annual increases? Depending on what council does, we’re likely looking at an overall increase in the three per cent range.