• Stouffville’s 2024 Operating, Capital, and Water and Wastewater Budgets have been tabled by Mayor Lovatt.
  • This year’s budget book is an expansive document presenting Town goals and breaking down municipal services and needs by themes focused on growth, transportation, recreation and parks, community engagement, safety, governance, and organizational effectiveness.
  • The budget book also details Stouffville’s capital plans through 2026, offering insights regarding major projects the Town hopes to undertake over the coming years.
  • The draft 2024 Operating and Capital budget proposes a combined 4.47% tax levy increase, which includes a 2% levy to further bolster the Town’s capital reserves and a 1% levy to help fund Stouffville’s Main Street Reconstruction project.
  • To help cover its $20,205,730 budget, The Town’s draft 2024 Water and Wastewater Budget proposes a 4.4% increase in user fees, which will go into effect on April 1, 2024.
  • This year’s budget consultation will happen during a Special Council Meeting at 7 p.m. on November 21. It will take place in Council Chambers and provides residents with a formal opportunity to speak to the Town’s budget proposals.
  • “The budgets highlight the Town’s strategic priorities and set the road map for investments in our future,” Mayor Lovatt stated in a recent press release. “Council and Staff are committed to enhancing our residents’ experience in town, and I believe this budget demonstrates that. Strategic investment in our future will be key as we move forward.”
  • Bullet Point News will provide further coverage of Council’s considerations and the budget process as it unfolds.

 

Strong Mayor Powers, which came into effect on October 31, 2023, require the Mayor to work with staff and prepare the Town’s budget. He must then personally table the budget for Council consideration, which he did on November 8. A shortened budget process looks to see final adoption by the end of 2023.

Council now has until December 4 to pass a resolution amending the budget. This would take place following the November 21 public consultation at Council’s Budget Meeting, which is currently scheduled for November 29. If no amendments are passed, the budget will be deemed adopted on November 30th.

Should Council approve amendments, the Mayor will have 10 days to veto any of them should he choose to do so. Mayoral vetoes do not require a Council meeting, however any vetos will come with a written explanation stating why the decision was made. Should the Mayor decide to veto amendments, Council will have nine days to override. Overriding a veto requires a 2/3rds majority vote by Council.

Calling it a “well-researched and fiscally responsible budget,” Lovatt has repeated his dedication to collaborating with Council through the process. “My commitment to all members of Council is to work with you between the tabling of the budget… and our scheduled budget meeting to ensure all of you feel good about the direction we are going—including any suggested changes by council,” he stated in a recent letter to Council members. “In my mind, little will change in the process we have all experienced in the past.”

Under these timelines, the resulting budget would be adopted no later than December 14, 2023. A final vote for adoption, under any scenario, is not required.