Mayor ‘proud’ of work done on Brantford’s 2023 operating budget

An operating budget that will add about $76.85 to the average residential tax bill this year was finalized by Brantford city council on Tuesday.

Councilors gave final approval to the $182.4-million 2023 budget with a 7-3 vote. Voting against the budget were councilors Dan McCreary, Greg Martin and Brian VanTilborg. In favor were councilors Richard Carpenter, Michael Sullivan, Rose Sicoli, Linda Hunt, Mandy Samwell, Gino Caputo and Mayor Kevin Davis. count. John Sless was absent.

The tax increase is based on the average residential home with an assessed 2016 value of $285,000, not the current market value.

“I’m quite proud about this budget,” said Davis. “Municipal budgets have a tremendous impact on the lives of residents for key services, such as water, wastewater, garbage collection, public transit and the quality of our neighbourhoods.”

Davis said city staff prepared a budget that maintains current services levels despite “skyrocketing costs that are out of our control,” due to supply chain constraints and volatility in the cost of fuel.

Davis noted that Brantford’s operating budget increase of 2.24 per cent is the second lowest in the province among single-tier municipalities with populations over 100,000, second only to Barrie.

“Will everyone like it?” said Carpenter. “No, of course not. Some people would prefer no increase whatsoever. That’s just not realistic in a growing community with inflation and the cost of things going up.”

The city-controlled portion of the budget increase (not including policing and a number of other boards funded by the city) is 1.7 per cent. The average tax increase for commercial, industrial and multi-residential classes is up 2.24 per cent over 2022.

The largest portion of the operating budget for city services is for public works, which has been allotted $50 million this year for infrastructure, including roads, sewers, bridges and streetlights. Fire services account for $21 million.

The city also funds a number of local boards, including police services, which has a 2023 budget of $44.6 million; the John Noble Home for long-term care ($1.88 million), Brantford Public Library ($5.1 million); Brant County Health Unit ($3 million), and paramedic services ($5.6 million).

The Police Services Act does not allow municipalities to “direct or involve themselves in the activities of municipal police services.” While municipal councils can’t make changes to police budgets, it can send them back to police boards for a second look. A move to do that was voted down by the majority of city councilors at an earlier meeting.

“We do have control over boards,” said Martin. “We can send the police budget back. We can say no to the amount they’re asking for. We can send it back to them to have another look.”

Martin, who is chair of the Brantford police services board, said he’s “going to be suggesting we take a look at it whether council refers it back or not.”

Several councilors spoke against changes to the police budget.

“We are a growing city and when a city grows everything grows with it, housing, industry, population and crime,” said Caputo. “We need to be getting into 21^st century policing. We need to start to ensure we are utilizing our police force adequately and efficiently instead of just putting them in cars and having them on the streets.”

Carpenter said new hires in this year’s police services budget are largely administrative, which will take officers out of the office and put them on the street.

“I’m very much in favor of our (police) chief and the leadership he has been going.”

VanTilborg said he was contacted by many residents asking him to support the police budget.

“We ask a lot of our police,” said Samwell. “We need them more than ever right now. To do that we need to support what they need.”