In Ontario, municipalities are required to conduct ward boundary reviews. Reviews are undertaken every 12 to 16 years. In Burlington, a review was conducted in 2005 when the city's population was approximately 139,000. Recently, our council completed a new review, resulting in new ward boundaries for Burlington. Burlington has the smallest number of councillors in Halton … Continue reading Burlington’s Ward Boundary Review
Burlington’s Ward Boundary and Council Composition Review Process Time Line
In Ontario, municipalities are required to conduct ward boundary reviews. Burlington recently completed a review to learn more about the review - Click Here We now know that taxpayers paid for a full review of council composition and received small revisions to the ward boundaries. Here’s a brief timeline of the project. March 2024 – … Continue reading Burlington’s Ward Boundary and Council Composition Review Process Time Line
Why are property taxes in Burlington so complicated?
Let’s start with the bill from the city. The tax bill has four components, each managed by a separate level of government or board. Code on the tax billMeaningResponsibilityM-MunicipalCity of BurlingtonMayor and councilR-RegionHalton RegionRegional Chair and councilP-PoliceHalton Police ServicesHalton Police BoardE-EdBoard of EducationProvince of Ontario Getting four bills would make everyone’s life more complicated and … Continue reading Why are property taxes in Burlington so complicated?
Is Burlington’s Tax Bill Legal?
This article was updated on May 12, 2025: Burlington has added a section titled "Schedule 2" to the back of the tax bill. Schedule 2 shows total taxes for last year, this year and the difference. The tax bill now complies with the requirements in the Ontario Municipal Act. Here is the original article from … Continue reading Is Burlington’s Tax Bill Legal?
Hamilton Councillors Revolt over 2025 Budget Process
The Bay Observer recently published two articles on the budget process in Hamilton: Five Hamilton Councillors in revolt over 2025 Budget Process Budget process in Hamilton put flaws in strong mayor legislation out for all to see The Bay Observer's Take on Strong Mayor Powers "When Doug Ford introduced the strong mayor powers he said … Continue reading Hamilton Councillors Revolt over 2025 Budget Process
Property Tax Delegation on the 2024 Budget Increase
Dan Chapman addresses Burlington City council on proposed 2024 property tax increase of 10.21%. Lisa Kearns issues a language caution about half way through. https://youtu.be/Nxt0Shm4glE
What will happen with a zero percent tax increase? “The sky will fall”.
Many Burlington residents are concerned with the high tax increases imposed by the current city council after the 2022 election. With the proposed 8.04% increase for 2025 taxes will have gone up 37.63% since the 2022 election. Several residents, including Lydia Thomas who delegated on this subject, say enough is enough. After a 15.59% increase … Continue reading What will happen with a zero percent tax increase? “The sky will fall”.
The most per-capita EV chargers in the GTA – but …
Burlington has spent approximately $1,400,000 to install 29 EV charging stations, and the 2025 budget provides for this to increase. How effective are these EV chargers? Disclaimer: This is not an anti-EV rant or an anti-charger rant. Please comment below if you disagree with this post. This post looks at the type of chargers the … Continue reading The most per-capita EV chargers in the GTA – but …
Traffic Flow
The 2024 budget did not contain any expenditures to address traffic flow in Burlington. In 2023 the city conducted an online survey. Question 8 asked: “As a resident of Burlington, what is the most important issue facing your community, that is, the one issue you feel should receive the greatest attention from your City Council … Continue reading Traffic Flow
Transit Priority Signal Coordination
Burlington has started to introduce changes to traffic light signalling to prioritize buses. While this is a great idea to speed up transit and get us all riding the buses there are some impacts to other forms of traffic including cyclists. https://burlingtongazette.ca/traffic-priority-signals-are-currently-being-tested-at-city-intersections/ Anyone driving towards Hamilton around 5 pm knows that Fairview, Plains Road, Lakeshore, … Continue reading Transit Priority Signal Coordination