The leaves are falling and Burlington’s taxes are rising – it’s budget season! It’s also an apt time for our second BRAG newsletter.
The Budget
The city released their proposed 2025 budget on Friday, October 25. Members of BRAG as well as other concerned Burlington residents worked together and began reviewing the 615-page document. Here are some quick facts:
· City spending will increase by 8.03%
· Burlington property taxes will increase by 7.5%
· Halton Region property taxes are projected to increase by 3.6%, Halton Region is responsible for affordable housing.
Facts are facts, and yet, the number you hear over and over again from the city and the mayor, on their social media and in their media releases, is 4.97%. Perplexed? So are we.
The city has calculated this number by blending in the education and regional taxes. We suspect that if blending in other entities’ tax rates caused the Burlington rate to be higher, no such blending would occur.
The bottom line is Burlington is responsible for the Burlington budget. Burlington residents want to know the actual Burlington spending and property tax increase amounts. They do not want to hear 4.97% when the budget spending increase is 8.03%. A year ago, several residents delegated on this point as well: be transparent and tell us the actual increase. People said this same thing this year at the mayor’s pre-budget consultation meetings, the point of which was to get public feedback. It was also raised at the “Food for Feedback” event (more to come on that particular “engagement” exercise soon). We are disappointed that this message continues to fall on deaf ears. Read more about this mathematical magic in our “Stop the tax increase” petition here: Tax increase petition
In our group’s review of the budget, some errors were discovered. We sent an open letter on October 30 to council and staff alerting them of the errors. We said, in part: “The fact that these errors exist is troubling to say the least. Other expenditures and details are spread over hundreds of pages; are residents expected to check and verify all calculations? People are now questioning the accuracy of the rest of the budget, and there is a real risk that the public will not trust the information you are releasing. We request that the city clarify and correct these errors immediately, re-release the budget with the corrections noted, and confirm that the rest of the budget numbers are accurate. … please let us know when the items above will be clarified, not just to us, but to all Burlington residents. This is, after all, our money you are spending.” Read the full letter here: Budget errors
The Chief Financial Officer responded and advised that the corrections had been made; however, there was no indication on the city website to indicate this, and the date of the budget document remains October 25. We have written back asking that this be corrected and questioning the city’s protocol on document version control. Have other changes been made without the knowledge of the public at large?
November 4th Council Meeting
Some BRAG volunteers and other residents delegated on the budget at the November 4, 2024 Committee of the Whole Meeting. Three themes emerged:
1. How the city engages with residents needs to be improved.
2. Burlington’s taxes are going up but two delegates, not associated with BRAG, raised issues with city services.
3. Council’s answer to every problem is to raise taxes. Reallocating resources, cutting nice-to-have items, and more efficient delivery of services are not on the table.
In terms of taxes going up, the cumulative increases to the Burlington portion of our bill look like this: For every $1 in property taxes you paid to Burlington in 2022, you’ll pay $1.37 in 2025. For every 2022 Halton dollar, you’ll pay $1.09 in 2025.
Burlington’s cumulative increase since 2022 has been 36.95%, Halton’s cumulative increase is 9.45%, and the cumulative effect of inflation is 13.81%.
Delegate Jim Barnett spoke extensively about the city’s engagement and the budget process. Here is a quote:
“I subsequently learned that it is not standard practice to have at least yearly performance reviews for city employees.”
Listen to the full delegation here: Jim Barnett Delegation (YouTube) or read Jim’s delegation here: Jim Barnett 2025 Budget Delegation
Stephen White spoke about alternate sources of revenue, Service Burlington, shared services and other topics. Stephen White 2025 Budget Delegation
Caren Burcher spoke about increases in the city’s salary costs: Caren Burcher 2025 Budget Delegation
Eric Stern and Ruth McAughey wrote about page 28 of the budget book. The city’s chart on page 28 compares property taxes as a percentage of average income for hand-picked municipalities. See the full article here: Is average income a justification for higher taxes? .
Budget Engagement
We pay property taxes and we have a right to clear explanations of where that money goes. Getting a 615 page document a few short weeks before the budget is voted on is not only an issue for residents but also for some council members. The councillors get the budget when we do, how can they effectively represent us?
BRAG’s Heat Pump Survey Results
Burlington’s proposed interest-free loan program for heat pumps was in the summary budget but was removed from the detailed budget. The Bay Area Climate Council submitted a letter to council asking that the heat pump program be restored.
Thank you to everyone who took BRAG’s one-question survey and/or left a comment in answer to the question “Should Burlington be providing interest-free loans for heat pumps?” As promised, we wish to share the results, 109 people responded, 86.2 % of respondents said NO. The comments were interesting, and one theme which was repeated in several comments was that there is already a federal incentive for heat pumps, and that no municipal government – particularly in times of economic hardship for many – should be in the business of funding loans with taxpayer money. A phrase we are hearing a lot is “stay in your lane.
Click here for the survey results, all the comments, and more information on the Bay Area Climate Council: Heat Pump Survey Results
As always, thank you for the ongoing support, and thank you for reading our newsletter. Please share it with friends and family, keep visiting our website – it’s updated regularly – and contact us with your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you.
The BRAG Team