Challinor gains Council support for 2020 Operating Budget range of 3-5%

Seconded by Ward 2 Regional Councillor Rick Malboeuf and supported by a slim majority of Milton Council, I successfully requested that Town staff return to Council with a 2020 Operating Budget that would see property tax increase options between 3% and 5%.

During my previous tour of duty on Council between 1991 and 2006, and always with the support of a strong majority of my colleagues, I annually requested Town staff to return to Council with operating budget increase options of 0, 1 and 2%.

Ward 1 Local Councillor Kristina Tesser Derksen cast the deciding vote in favour of attempting to introduce fiscal responsibility to the Town of Milton’s annual operating budget deliberations and, had she not done so, I don’t believe that Milton Council would have arrived at a 5.6% property tax levy increase for 2020. It would likely have been much closer to the 8.3% increase in 2019 — or higher. I publicly thanked her for her support on behalf of the hard-working taxpayers of Ward 2.

I will be bringing forward a motion in the summer of 2020 calling for 2021 property tax increase options between 1, 2 and 3%. CR