Hello Ward 8 Neighbours,
Councillor Danko was recently invited on the Bill Kelly Show, where the focus of the conversation centred around the City of Hamilton’s discussions leading towards the 2021 budget.
For more details, please continue reading below…
Councillor Danko was asked about the prospects of the 2021 budget, and indicated that 2021 will be a challenge not just for Hamilton, but for all municipalities going forward (Full audio can be found below).
Councillor Danko went on to state that the numbers that council is projecting at the moment is around a 4% municipal tax increase. As the City does multiple projections in the years prior to setting a budget, the 2021 projection from 2019 was at 4.2% because of significant downloading in 2019-2020 from the Government of Ontario, meaning that the current projections are below their initial outlook. Danko went on to state that he is cautiously optimistic moving through this year’s budget process.
“There are so many residents are there that are struggling to just make ends meet and last thing they need to obviously is a tax increase”
Councillor John-Paul Danko on the Bill Kelly Show
On the topic of Federal and Provincial aide, the councillor acknowledged that the City would be in a serious financial position if it wasn’t for the support of those upper level of governments, but added that there is no financial commitments past 2021. Councillor Danko applauded the efforts of City staff to cut expenses, utilize reserves and different financing methods to make sure the city was in a good financial position during the pandemic, but added there are a lot of unknowns moving forward:
“There are no upper levels of government commitments, no additional money available past 2021 so that’s obviously a very big concern for the City of Hamilton and just another concern on the COVID side is we really don’t know what the epidemiology of this virus is going to be. We’re sort of all working under the impression right now of a linear recovery, where there’s going to be a vaccine 1 to 2 years out and we’re going to keep on the same projection that we’re on now.
But of course nobody really knows what’s going to happen. When the vaccine is going to be available, if it’s going to be available and what’s the current status of working from home and keeping everything constrained is going to be continued indefinitely so there’s there’s just so many unknowns looking forward.
Councillor John-Paul Danko on the Bill Kelly Show
Asked about efficiencies in the upcoming Budget, Councillor Danko mentioned that the City of Hamilton is a lean municipality, with very few areas where there are efficiencies to be found. Roughly $17.5 million accounts for inflation pressures and salaries & benefits. I.T. costs another $3.5 million, especially as the City has adapted with people working from home or off-site to ensure that the City continues running, an obvious unseen pressure (COVID-19 pandemic) that no one saw coming. Danko went on to state that waste management is an additional $6 million/year, where in his opinion the City could have saved close to $3million had it opted for bi-weekly waste collection.
“All the activity that’s going on at the airport with Amazon and Panattoni and most of the employment parks around the City and Ancaster, in Waterdown, are seeing really strong growth and that takes a lot of the pressure off residential taxpayers”.
Councillor John-Paul Danko on the Bill Kelly Show
Councillor Danko and Mr. Kelly went on to talk about lost revenue streams for the City due to the pandemic, budget priorities and the City’s continued strategic objectives. Audio starts at the 36:00 mark.
Questions or concerns?
If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact our office here.