City budget: Politicians re-visiting 2024-27 spending as big tax hikes loom

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Taxpayers, hang on to your wallets. Next week, city hall will kick off its 2025 budget update, tweaking and amending the 2024-27 budget passed this year by city council. While meant to be geared toward relatively small changes, it’s possible old fights could resurface. LFP’s Jack Moulton breaks down what to expect.

WHAT IS DIFFERENT THIS YEAR?

The budget update for 2025 is designed to be a streamlined process, largely meant to be a housekeeping update rather than a major overhaul, city hall’s finance boss said on Thursday.

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“It’s really about focusing on material changes to the adopted multi-year budget, rather than a full-scale redo of the full budget for the remaining three years,” said Kyle Murray.

Murray says the lion’s share of amendments to the budget stem from new laws or regulations, new instructions from city council, or unanticipated costs or pressures.

But during budget talks, politicians will have the ability to bring up old funding requests, either to change ones that were approved last year or to try reviving ones that were defeated.

HOW WILL THIS WORK?

Mayor Josh Morgan will present his budget update at a meeting on Oct. 29, with the document being available on a public agenda one day prior.

From Oct. 30 to Nov. 18, there will be a series of pop-up information sessions and ward councillor meetings, before an official public participation session at city hall on Nov. 19.

City councillors will have their say on any amendments during a meeting on Nov. 21, and an extra meeting on Nov. 22 if needed. A meeting will be held Nov. 27 to finalize any changes, and Morgan will have to signal his intention to veto changes or not by Dec. 2.

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If he does, council will have the opportunity to override a mayoral veto with a two-thirds majority. Any such overrides would have to be finalized by Dec. 17.

WHAT COULD BE CHANGED?

The budget chair, Ward 12 Coun. Elizabeth Peloza, said she expects a mix of minor tweaks and old discussions brought back, given the sometimes-fierce discussions that took place during budget talks last winter.

“Anything else that councillors would like to bring forward, which very well could be . . . a business case in there that didn’t pass, that they believe times have changed, that it is required now, they can certainly try again,” she said.

Likely to come up again during discussions is the four year, fully approved $672 million budget for the London police, which saw several unsuccessful attempts during 2024 budget talks to reduce it. Politicians are also looking to crack down after the police board spent $104,000 on a public relations firm campaign to help sell the record budget ask.

The London Transit Commission, the London Public Library, and the London Arts Council, among others, also walked away with less than what they asked for in the 2024-27 budget, which could spur more discussion as they table their budget requests.

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New costs or cuts, such as the recently approved “renoviction” bylaw, reduced councillor spending limits, or cutting the Neighbourhood Decision Making Program and community grants will also weigh on upcoming discussions.

A REFRESHER ON THE BUDGET

The four-year budget, approved at the end of February this year, set the blueprint for how much property taxes will be hiked through 2027. The numbers are subject to change, though, especially after Morgan’s budget update dictates any new or reduced spending.

Here are the numbers as they now stand:

• Property taxes increased by 8.7 per cent in 2024, and are so far set to increase another 8.7 per cent in 2025, 5.7 per cent in 2026, and 6.7 per cent in 2027.
• Water rates in 2024 rose 2.5 per cent and in 2025 will increase 1.5 per cent, rising another 2.6 per cent in 2026 and 4.8 per cent in 2027.
• Wastewater rates in 2024 went up four per cent, in 2025 will increase 5.4 per cent, 4.6 per cent in 2026 and then 5.2 per cent in 2027.

HOW CAN YOU PARTICIPATE?

City staff will host six different pop-up information sessions on the budget across the city between Nov. 2 and Nov. 13, along with any ward councillor meetings.

There will be just one public participation meeting at city hall at 4 p.m. on Nov. 19, where residents can write in or voice their opinions on the public record to council.

jmoulton@postmedia.com

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