The City of Burlington posts “Council Information” packages to the city’s website. These packages are available to the public on the city’s meeting calendar. (Council and Committees Calendar - City of Burlington) The November 14th, 2025, package contains a list of questions and responses on the 2026 Budget. One of the questions was: “How does … Continue reading Opinion – Budget 2026 – Do Burlington residents deserve transparency, accountability, and real engagement? (Part 2)
Opinion – Budget 2026 – Do Burlington residents deserve transparency, accountability, and real engagement? (Part 1)
First, we’d like to thank the city for the responses to our questions. What is happening in Burlington with Salaries and Wages As one of many questions on the 2026 budget, Focus Burlington asked the city, “What is the reasoning behind the average salary increase being in the range of 5% when CPI is in … Continue reading Opinion – Budget 2026 – Do Burlington residents deserve transparency, accountability, and real engagement? (Part 1)
Opinion – Bus Shelters or Technology?
Burlington’s 2026 Budget includes $4.2 million for three new 40-foot buses, $95,000 a year, every year, for bus stop improvements and a one-time expense of $299,000 for technology improvements. The technology improvements are for buses with Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) systems. There are also major improvements planned for specialized (accessible) transit. As Burlington moves towards … Continue reading Opinion – Bus Shelters or Technology?
Focus Burlington’s 2026 Budget Survey Results
Thank you to the 222 people who participated in our survey. This is a summary of what we learned.
Opinion – Burlington’s 2026 Budget: Where is the money going?
Increases to salaries & benefits will use over 57% of the tax increase. We took a look at Burlington's 2026 budget. The average salary increase for full-time employees is 5.17%. The average salary, before benefits, will be $106,556.35.
Our Survey on Burlington’s 2026 Budget
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?