Mayor's budget squeeze on city hall's external boards and agencies yet to yield tax savings

CTV News

a day ago

London mayor asked several agencies to find budget savings in order to meet his property tax increase target of below five per cent, reports Daryl Newcombe.
Mayor Josh Morgan believes it's too early to tell if he can still meet his property tax target of below 5 per cent in 2026.
Earlier this spring, Morgan and Budget Chair Coun. Elizabeth Peloza contacted 12 city-funded agencies, boards and commissions (ABCs) requesting they provide opportunities for potential budget reductions, provincial/federal advocacy and new revenue generation.
However, just two response letters appear on the agenda of next week's Budget Committee meeting.
'(Some) other organizations we're still in discussions with, and other boards just need some time to dig into their budgets,' Morgan tells CTV News.
The letters on the agenda from the Middlesex London Health Unit (MLHU) and Museum London both include blunt warnings against another budget reduction in 2026.
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Exterior of Museum London. (Daryl Newcombe/CTV News London)
'Further budget reductions from the City will necessitate reduced operating hours, impact jobs, and reduce our ability to attract investment from all levels of government, sponsors and donors,' reads the letter from Museum London.
The MLHU writes, 'further reducing the funding from the City by an additional 1.5% would lead to a deficit of over $1 million dollars for the Health Unit next year.'
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Exterior of Middlesex London Health Unit. (Daryl Newcombe/CTV News London)
Peloza explains that the 2024-2027 municipal budget already includes savings from both agencies, 'In their letters it's stated that at the beginning of the multi-year budget they already took their (budget) cut then. Now they're saying, 'I don't have more to give.''
'I'm not surprised by their responses,' admits the mayor. 'I met with both of them individually, and as I said all along, there's going to be some organizations that are facing different types of pressures than others.'
Outreach to the city's ABCs was an extensive undertaking by Morgan and Peloza earlier this spring.
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Projected property tax increase in 2024-2027 Budget. (City of London)
Joint Meetings with the Mayor and Budget Chair:
• RBC Place
• Middlesex-London Health Unit
• Upper Thames River Conservation Authority
• London Middlesex Community Housing
Meetings with the Mayor:
• London Public Library
Meetings with the Budget Chair:
• London Police Services Board – Finance Committee
• Museum London
• Tourism London
• London Transit Commission
Written Correspondence Provided to:
• Kettle Creek Conservation Authority
• Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority
• Eldon House
The mayor emphasizes ABCs can still respond to City Hall about potential budget savings in the coming weeks and months.
'Given their board (meeting) cycles, (and) the amount of time their staff need to look into things in a meaningful and serious way, they're going to need a little bit more time,' he explains. 'What I've said to them is there's no bad time to bring forward a budget savings.'
The London Police Services Board's finance committee recently began looking for between $1 million and $1.5 million in budget savings that would not impact police operations.
The appointment of a temporary London Transit Commission (LTC) made up of Council members has delayed an analysis of the net financial impact of two unanticipated events when the LTC's multi-year budget was first approved: lower fuel prices and declining international student enrolment at Fanshawe College.
London's initial property tax rate increase in 2026 was projected to be 6.4 per cent, but the mayor set his own target of below 5 per cent.
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2024-2027 Municipal Budget Documents. (File)
Achieving the mayor's target requires finding savings and/or revenue totaling about $13 million.
Peloza believes budget savings from external agencies, boards, and commissioners will be needed for the mayor to reach his target.
'I'm going to assume that we were banking on them, and the mayor was especially banking on them as he made a target to get under a certain percentage,' she admits. 'It's going to get to the point of which ones can we cut, which ones can't we cut. Those decisions will start with him and then go to council for consideration.'
Council deliberations about the mayor's draft budget begin in late November.
Morgan says it's still too early to determine if his tax target will be reached.
'I don't know yet, but what we are doing is we're tracking in the right direction,' he says.
Representatives of the Health Unit and Museum London have asked to speak at the Budget Committee meeting on June 11.