Hot Topics

City Council approves 2021 budget

Burlington, Ont. – March 4, 2021—Burlington City Council has approved the city’s 2021 operating budget. Combined with a budget increase from Halton Region and no change to education taxes, the overall tax increase is 2.50 per cent or $18.99 per $100,000 of a home’s current value assessment. The city’s budget increase is 4.14 per cent.

The 2021 budget focuses on:

• Sustaining city services, including:
  • Additional resources to support ongoing and growing workloads in forestry and road maintenance
  • Additional funding for on-going recreation facility maintenance as well as the conversion of part-time staffing to full-time
  • Additional resource to support and enhance community engagement.
• Managing community growth, including:
  • Funding to carry out the comprehensive review of the zoning bylaw
  • Funding to complete area specific planning for the Major Transit Station Areas (MTSA) around the three GO stations in Burlington
  • Additional resources to enhance the delivery of development review and building services.
    
    
• Enhancing services, including:
  • A continuation of the free transit service for seniors pilot program, Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
  • A continuation of the plumbing grant program that provides financial assistance for basement flood prevention work.
    
    
• Modifications to services to address COVID-19, including:
  • The introduction of new parking measures at Beachway Park and Lowville Park
  • Additional bylaw enforcement officers, funded by Halton Region, to assist with the enforcement of COVID-19 public health measures.

COVID-19 financial impacts
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is expected to continue placing considerable pressure on the city’s financial position in 2021. A decrease in revenues from recreation programs, facility rentals, transit fares and modifications to the operation of services to protect the health and safety of residents are anticipated to result in a projected 2021 revenue impact of $12.3 million.

To help offset the anticipated financial impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, a total of $5.7 million in one-time mitigation measures has been incorporated into the 2021 operating budget, including a redirection of the 1.25% Infrastructure Renewal Levy ($2.18 million). In addition, $6,617,577 in funding from the provincial/federal Safe Restart Agreement will be used towards 2021 financial COVID-19 impacts.

2021 property tax relief program
At a special meeting of Council on March 3, City Council approved a 2021 COVID-19 Property Tax Deferral Payment Plan program to provide relief to residents and businesses that continue to face financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The application-based program will allow eligible property owners who are unable to pay property taxes by the regularly scheduled tax due dates, to defer taxes under a pre-authorized payment plan. If eligible, equal monthly withdrawals will be made that will allow for the property taxes to be paid in full by Dec. 1, 2021.

Additional details:

• Applicants will be required to attest the financial hardship they are experiencing is directly related to COVID-19, e.g. loss of employment, business closure, prolonged suspension of pay
• Property owners that have an unpaid balance on their account from March 1, 2020 onward may include this amount in the property tax deferral payment plan (eligible owners cannot have any property tax amounts owing prior to March 1, 2020)
• Immediately following enrollment, no penalty or interest will be applied for the duration of the deferral as long as payments are made
• Eligible property owners have the ability to choose which date they would like the pre-authorized monthly payment plan to begin. Options include April 1, May 1, June 1 or July 1.

The application to apply for the 2021 COVID-19 Property Tax Deferral Payment Plan program is available at burlington.ca/propertytax.

Halton residents 80 years of age and older can now book an appointment to be vaccinated at a Halton Region COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic. For more information, visit halton.ca

Burlington Housing Strategy Virtual Launch

Monday, March 8, 7 to 9 p.m., on Zoom

Join City staff and a community panel in a conversation about Housing in Burlington and the Housing Strategy.

To help get the conversation started, take the Housing Strategy Launch Survey, available on getinvolvedburlington.ca/housingstrategy starting on March 1. You can also visit the project page for the meeting link information for March 8, 2021.

Housing is a top priority in the City of Burlington. The City is doing a Housing Strategy to give current and future residents more housing options across our city. In January 2021, City Council endorsed the Burlington Housing Strategy Terms of Reference, directing staff to start work on the Housing Strategy.

The Housing Strategy is an opportunity to develop creative and innovative solutions for housing issues in Burlington that will build on and support the Region’s Housing Strategy.

To learn more, check out the City of Burlington’s Housing Strategy - Proposed Terms of Reference Staff Report.

Regional Official Plan Review: Latest Update

Halton Region has released new materials for public engagement as part of the Regional Official Plan Review

On Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2020 Halton Regional Council endorsed a series of materials for public release as part of the engagement process for the Regional Official Plan Review. The City of Burlington will be preparing a staff report to provide comments for endorsement by City Council prior to submission to the Region. To learn more, please visit the Regional Official Plan Review project page.

Burlington City Council meetings will be moving to a new day and time in 2021. Starting Jan. 19, City Council meetings will take place on Tuesday afternoons at 1 p.m., from their previous day and time of Monday evenings at 6:30 p.m.

Watch meetings live

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, all City meetings continue to be held virtually. Residents are encouraged to visit burlington.ca/calendar to:

• Watch a live web cast of all city meetings
• Find links to view a copy of the agenda items being discussed at city meetings
• View video recordings of previous meetings.

Ways to communicate with Burlington City Council

Communicating with members of Council to participate in the decision-making process at City Council and Committee meetings, is important. Below is a list of ways the public can connect with City Council:

• Speak at an upcoming Committee or Council meeting - Speaking, or delegating, at a board, committee or City Council meeting is a great way to share views with members of City Council. Speakers (delegates) are given 10 minutes to share their comments at a Committee or board meeting, and five minutes at a City Council meeting. Registration is required to speak at a meeting and comments must relate to an item on the agenda.

• Make a presentation at an upcoming Committee or Council meeting - Local boards, agencies, commissions, City staff and other levels of government may submit a request to make a presentation at an upcoming standing committee meeting. Presentations must address matters relevant to the city and seek to provide information or receive input from members of the Committee. Presentations are heard at the beginning of Committee meetings and a maximum of 10 minutes is provided.

• Submit correspondence – the Office of the City Clerk can assist in distributing correspondence from the public to member of City Council.

• Submit a petition - The Office of the City Clerk accepts petitions related to matters listed on an upcoming standing Committee agenda. A petition is a written request signed by more than one member of the public in support of a shared cause or concern. A petition may be presented in paper format, electronically or using an online system for petitions.

• Contact your Councillor directly – Residents may contact members of Council directly about city and regional matters. All members of Burlington City Council are also Regional Councillors at Halton Region. Contact information for City Council is available at burlington.ca/council.

Housing Strategy kicks off on Jan. 14 at Committee Meeting with proposed terms of reference

Burlington needs a Housing Strategy. We’ve said this in our Strategic Plan, in our Vision2Focus and again in our new Official Plan.

First, we need to present this initiative to Burlington City Council. On Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021, a staff report, including the proposed terms of reference for a Housing Strategy will be considered at the Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility Committee meeting at 9:30 a.m.

For more information please review the staff report and its appendices and the proposed terms of reference.

— On Wednesday, Dec. 16, between 6 and 7 p.m., the City of Burlington will hold a town hall event to share information and answer resident questions about our ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The format of this town hall will be different than the previous telephone-only town hall events. The Dec. 16 town hall will be a virtual one, made available through Zoom, with attendees having the option to call in by phone or join in online.

Mayor Marianne Meed Ward will host this virtual town hall and will be joined by a panel of local leaders to help answer residents’ COVID-19-related questions, including:

• Tim Commisso, City Manager, City of Burlington
• Chris Glenn, Director of Recreation Services, City of Burlington
• MP Pam Damoff, MP for Oakville-North Burlington
• Dr. Dale Kalina, Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Control, Joseph Brant Hospital
• Eric Vandewall, President and Chief Executive Officer, Joseph Brant Hospital
• Anita Cassidy, Executive Director, Burlington Economic Development.

How to Participate

Residents who would like to participate in the town hall can do so in the following ways:

1. Join virtually: Residents are invited to join just before 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 16 to take part in the town hall via Zoom at http://bit.ly/townhalldecember16. If you have not downloaded Zoom before, you will be prompted to do so and create a personal account. Please be advised that more than one attempt may be required due to the high volume of traffic. A maximum of 1000 participants will be able to join in this virtual town hall. If we exceed 1000 guests, you will still be able to watch the recorded event online once it is posted at burlington.ca/townhall.
2. Join by phone: Residents are invited to join by phone by calling 647-374-4685 and entering webinar ID 880 1886 1286.

Once the town hall begins, a moderator will provide participants with instructions for how to submit their questions to the leadership panel. As with previous public town halls, the focus of this event will be on the situation surrounding COVID-19. Participants are requested to ask any questions related to COVID-19, the city’s response, impacts to residents, businesses, services and programs, hospital and health-related questions, and the broader impact of the pandemic on our community.

The City of Burlington is looking for community members to volunteer on a city committee or board and play a key role in providing advice and feedback to City Council and staff on a variety of city issues. Applications are now being accepted online at burlington.ca/committees until Friday, Dec. 4.

Residents over 18 years of age, representing the diverse backgrounds of our community are encouraged to apply. Participating on a city committee provides a unique opportunity to:

• Lend your voice and expertise to help shape decisions and services that impact our community
• Expand your network and meet new people
• Gain a broader understanding of how municipal government works.

Attend a Virtual Information Session
A virtual information session to share more details about the openings and application process will be held on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. Individuals who would like to attend can register in advance by emailing clerks@burlington.ca.

A recording of the Nov. 17 virtual information session will be posted to burlington.ca/committees following the event.

As the approval authority, Halton Region is reviewing the City’s adopted Official Plan (2018).

On Thursday, Nov. 26, City Council will decide if they will endorse the modifications found within the Region’s draft Notice of Decision related to the adopted Burlington Official Plan.

City staff have collaborated extensively with Regional staff to:

• address issues of Regional and Provincial conformity,
• respond to Provincial policy updates occurring post-plan adoption,
• identify opportunities to enhance structure and readability, and
• incorporate housekeeping changes.

City staff have also requested that the Region consider the proposed modifications endorsed by City Council through the Scoped Re-examination of the adopted Official Plan in its decision.

On Wednesday, Nov. 18th, the staff report and draft Notice of Decision will be posted to the Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility agenda.

Delegations are by advance registration only. If you would like to delegate, visit burlington.ca/delegate or email clerks@burlington.ca

Burlington’s New Official Plan

Halton Region Draft Notice of Decision

Learn more - www.burlington.ca/newop

Regional Official Plan Review – The Downtown Burlington Urban Growth Centre and Major Transit Station Area Supplemental Discussion Paper

Over the past few months, Halton Region has been engaging with our community as they review the Regional Official Plan. Thank you to all participants for their feedback to date.

As part of the review process, the Region is now looking for feedback on a new supplemental discussion paper about the Major Transit Station Area and Urban Growth Centre in Downtown Burlington. The Region has been working with the City of Burlington to reconsider the Major Transit Station Area designation and to examine options to adjust the Urban Growth Centre boundary to generally align with lands around the Burlington GO Station.

The full discussion paper can be downloaded from the Region’s summary webpage:

• Downtown Burlington Urban Growth Centre and Major Transit Station Area Supplemental Discussion Paper (Integrated Growth Management Strategy)

Public Information Centres (PICs)

You are invited to attend a virtual Public Information Centre (PIC) on this supplemental Discussion Paper online or by phone. Two PICs will be held to accommodate the schedules of as many participants as possible. The same presentation will be given at the beginning of each meeting and will be followed by a Question and Answer period. To join a meeting:

• Online: Visit halton.ca/ropr on the date of the PIC to access the Zoom webinar
• By phone: Call 1-855-703-8985 (Toll Free) and use the meeting IDs and passcodes below. Those joining by phone are not to submit questions live during the meeting—please email ropr@halton.ca or call 311 to submit questions in advance of the PIC. You can check halton.ca/ropr closer to the meeting to download a copy of the presentation in order to follow along.

PIC 1

Thur., November 19, 2020 | 1 p.m.

Call 1-855-703-8985 (Toll Free) or 647-374-4685 or 647-558-0588 or use this link to join via Zoom

Meeting ID: 965 8371 6047 | Passcode: 930488

PIC 2

Wed., November 25, 2020 | 7 p.m.

Call 1-855-703-8985 (Toll Free) or 647-374-4685 or 647-558-0588 or use this link to join via Zoom

Meeting ID: 980 8592 6459 | Passcode: 930488

You can also email Halton Region at ropr@halton.ca to submit comments directly to project staff or request a more focused consultation session to address your interests.

In addition to the PICs, you can participate in the review process by completing the topic-specific questionnaire on the supplemental Discussion Paper by Dec. 22, 2020.