The city will be releasing a detailed 2026 budget on October 24th, 2025, and our council will vote to pass the budget on December 2nd, 2025. Focus Burlington, a group of volunteers, is conducting a survey on the 2026 budget. We don’t have all the budget details, but the city has released enough information to … Continue reading Our Survey on Burlington’s 2026 Budget
Opinion – Fact Checking the Budget Town Hall Meetings!
Focus Burlington is a group of volunteers dedicated to promoting a safe, secure, and sustainable future for all residents of Burlington. Group members recently attended all the city’s town hall meetings on the 2026 budget. Accompanying the mayor at every meeting is our very own Deputy Mayor for Strategy and Budgets, our Ward 5 councillor. … Continue reading Opinion – Fact Checking the Budget Town Hall Meetings!
Say Goodbye to the Sound of Music Festival.
The next Burlington City Council meeting is on October 6, 2025. Council is voting to remove all funding from the Sound of Music Festival.
What is the Federation of Canadian Municipalities?
Many municipalities across Canada contribute to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), including Burlington and Hamilton. Our estimates indicate that Burlington contributed $41,416 in 2024. What services does FCM provide? Each member municipality pays an annual fee composed of a base fee and a per-person fee, based on Statistics Canada's population estimates.[1] Across Canada, municipalities … Continue reading What is the Federation of Canadian Municipalities?
Are property tax increases also rent increases?
In Ontario, rent controls are applied to buildings occupied before November 15, 2018. Ontario has capped rental increases at 2.1% for 2026. The cap is based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a common measure of inflation. If the inflation rate is above 2.5% rent increases are capped at 2.5%. If a landlord requires an … Continue reading Are property tax increases also rent increases?
Is there only one taxpayer?
Dedicated listeners to Burlington council meetings will often hear our mayor talk about the “Municipal Growth Framework.” The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) is taking an active role in promoting this new framework, and Burlington’s own, Rory Nisan, was recently re-elected to the FCM Board of Directors. This quote is from FCM’s website: “FCM is … Continue reading Is there only one taxpayer?
Opinion: Murky Waters surround Burlington Pools
This post discusses two RFPs RFP-25-202 and RFP-25-203. Copies of the RFP documents are linked at the bottom of this article for anyone interested in reading the them. In Burlington, the right to rent swimming pools is precious. Request for Proposals (RFPs) are typically used when the city is purchasing something. When the city needs … Continue reading Opinion: Murky Waters surround Burlington Pools
Opinion – Engagement and Transparency – Burlington’s 2026 Budget Process.
Burlington is a great place to live, but like many other communities, there are pressures and changes taking place. Balancing the needs of the community with taxpayers' ability to pay for those needs is the definition of politics. For those of us at Focus Burlington, the budget review process is not about cutting everything. We … Continue reading Opinion – Engagement and Transparency – Burlington’s 2026 Budget Process.
Opinion: From Pool Rental to Lawsuit?
When it comes to competitive swimming, Burlington swimmers have 2 outdoor and 4 indoor pools to choose from. The city’s recent and controversial decision to award an “RFP” to the Golden Horseshoe Aquatics Club (GHAC) over the Burlington Aquatic Devilrays (BAD) requires a closer look. First, the term “RFP” stands for Request For Proposal. This … Continue reading Opinion: From Pool Rental to Lawsuit?
Opinion: Here we go again. The City of Burlington plans to increase spending by 5.8% in the 2026 Budget
Keep 5.8% in mind. This is how the city is positioning the increase “Burlington’s portion of the overall increase would be 2.98%”. Let's call this Burlington Speak math or BS math (for short). Spending is increasing 5.8% but the “overall increase” is 2.98%, exactly how does BS math work? Well, if you assume that the … Continue reading Opinion: Here we go again. The City of Burlington plans to increase spending by 5.8% in the 2026 Budget