Improving Budget Transparancy

Improving Budget Transparency

and Make City Budgets More Understandable

1. Previous Year's Budget Surplus
The staff recommendation that the Art Gallery’s 2024 debt payment be covered by the 2023 budget surplus raises the questions of fairness and transparency. First of all if I gave my son $100 to by his mother a birthday present and he only spends $80 I would expect that he would return the $20 that he didn’t spend. Why doesn’t the city subscribe to this same principle? After all it’s our money and if the city has $1million leftover from the $33 million that we gave them last year we and no wrong to ask for it back.

“Better accounting in budgets, clearer presentation of key numbers and timelier publication would help raise the financial management of Canada’s cities to a level more appropriate to their importance in Canadians’ lives.” Willian B.P. Robson & miles Wu C,D. Howe Institute

HOW WE CAN IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY

There is an easy fix for this – simply replace the first part of the budget brief where staff tell us what a great job they’ve been doing; with a detailed, department level, brief of the year-end results. We deserve to know how each department spent the money we gave them and if they had money left over at the end of the year. Then start the budget discussions with the surplus from the previous year as the first line on the sheet. This way everyone can see that this money is fully accounted for and returned to the taxpayer. From the taxpayer’s perspective we need to see how they did last year before this year’s budget is developed and we need this briefed at the same time the budget is presented.

“How can Canadian municipalities improve accountability for the money they raise and spend? A key recommendation is that they should present their annual budgets on the same accounting basis as their year-end financial statements.” Willian B.P. Robson & miles Wu C,D. Howe Institute

2. Brief the Entire City Budget
The second way to improve transparency is to brief the budget for the entire city operation. Currently staff only tell us about those areas that are paid for by our taxes. However we also pay for the Water and Wastewater department through our water bills. However staff brief this budget in June/July well after the beginning of the fiscal year. Why?

Taxpayers deserve to see the full picture at budget time. Not only do we need to see the Revenue and Expenses for the Water and Wastewater department, including staffing, but we need to see all revenues that the city receives from other governments and we need to see these in a timely manner as Robson and Wu tell us their recent paper; Solving the Municipal Budget Mystery.

“The documents should be timely: the presentation and voting of budgets should precede – preferably by several months – the beginning of the fiscal year, and financial statements should come out within a few months after the fiscal year-end when the information is fresh and useful for budgeting decisions …” Willian B.P. Robson & miles Wu C,D. Howe Institute

ACTION REQUIRED

If you agree that the city needs to improve Transparency and Understanding you need to voice your concerns before the final budget meeting on February 26, 2024 and tell them the following.

1.    Change the budget process to include a briefing of the year-end and include any budget surplus from the previous year to begin the process. Most importantly do not use the 2023 surplus to cover the Art Gallery’s debt payment.

2.    Change the budget process to include all of the city’s Revenues and Expenses such as Water and Wastewater and other revenues such as provincial grants.

3.    Start the budget process much earlier, preferably several months before the beginning of the fiscal year and direct that financial statements are available to the public within a few months after the fiscal year-end.

Note: The 2022 financial statements were not available until November of 2023. As well the 2022 Financial Information Return was not submitted until October 2023 in spite that the deadline for submitting the 2022 return was May 2023.

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