October is here and that means it’s yearly budget planning time. Work to determine the Town’s 2022 budget is well underway.
This year’s budget represents the final in a multi-year budgeting term spanning 2020 to 2022, as approved by this Council in 2020. Multi-year budgeting is essential to understanding the longer-term view of Aurora’s needs thus ensuring more stable service delivery and infrastructure investment. The 2022 budget includes the identification of all the resources, funds and staff needed to deliver the Town’s core services, manage growth and implement new initiatives. Council has undertaken a significant engagement of its stakeholders over the past several months in support of its review of the 2022 budget.
Aurora Town Council has worked hard to be fiscally responsible and mindful of taxpayer dollars. We fully recognize there is only one taxpayer and any increase in taxes puts added pressure on your household budget. Several years ago, through the work of the Finance Advisory Committee, we developed a budget policy that limits any increase to our tax levy to inflation plus 1%. This policy allows Council and the public to know exactly what will be coming, so residents and businesses can plan without worrying about fluctuations in the tax rate.
Our official budget kickoff is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, October 26 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall. This is when the 2022 budget will be tabled. The review of the budget will take place over a series of Budget Committee meetings in November, with a final review by Council scheduled for December 14. I encourage everyone to attend a meeting, whether in person or virtually through our livestream, to see this process firsthand. The budget meetings schedule is available at aurora.ca/budget2022.
As always, I encourage residents and businesses to reach out to me at any time either by phone, through social media or in-person. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me directly anytime 416-543-1624 or visit the website HERE to sign up for regular updates. I am here for you.
