IM_Robson and Dahir_2023_0105.pub

If January 1 comes and goes with no budget, a city is taxing and spending without proper scrutiny and approval from elected representatives and voters. [...] The remaining 18 – including too many of the economic heavyweights of the Greater Toronto Area – have started the new year with no formal fiscal plans. [...] Unlike the federal and provincial governments, and unlike well run businesses and not-for-profits, municipalities typically use different accounting in their budgets than when they report their results. [...] As of the start of 2022, 20 of the 31 municipalities had presented budgets. [...] More than one-third only presented budgets after the year started, and some of the delays were outrageous: For example, Ontario’s Durham Region and Toronto did not present theirs until February, and Hamilton waited until the end of March.