Dale KERR GENGE   For Mayor, For Taxpayers

"Strong Mayor Powers" changed the budget process. Instead of open debate on a draft budget, the "Mayor's Budget" was presented as the final budget. Discussion on the budget could only happen through motions. No other Council member seconded Dale's motions, so discussion was blocked.

As a result, instead of two full days of open budget deliberations, for the past two years, the budget has been approved in less than a morning, with no open discussion or debate. This process lacks transparency for Georgina Taxpayers and quashes open debate.

Dale will:

• Have council establish a maximum allowable tax increase that staff must meet in preparing their budget requests;
• Present a draft budget for full Council discussion before presenting a "Mayor's Budget", which will incorporate the results of Council's decisions;
• Seek public input on the budget in the spring using Town Halls and surveys, rather than in the fall after staff have completed most of the budget preparation;
• When conducting surveys that ask what service levels residents want increased, include the costs and tax increases associated with those increased levels of service;
• Support a budget that focuses on Taxpayer priorities.