Should Council wish to take part in the budget review process earlier, this would be feasible but would add a number of weeks to the overall budget development timeline.

Upon completion of Administration’s normal budget development and reviews, time would need to be set out for additional review by City Council prior to finalizing a recommended budget that would be tabled for public input prior to final Council deliberations. The exact amount of added time would depend on the level of detail that Council wished to review and the required changes that would flow from that review.

Should Council decide to amend the process to include this additional review, it is highly recommended that the operating and capital budgets be reviewed by City Council as a whole (which would be considered public meetings), rather than by sub-committees. Given the current environment, these meetings would have to adhere to recommended physical distancing and may likely require a remote solution via video conferencing that may present its own challenges. If Council should choose this option, based on the City’s previous experience with this model , final deliberations timelines would need to be significantly extended and would likely occur in or around mid to late March, 2021 as apposed to the end of January, 2021. It is important to note, that given the need to address the Covid-19 impacts on budgets, it is much preferable to approve budgets very early in the fiscal year in order to have the full year to action budget initiatives. In this regard, initiatives that delay the budget process are counterproductive to that goal.

In addition, if Council wishes to enhance the public participation in the budget review process beyond the current participation levels and the various public engagement initiatives undertaken, this would add further time and COVID related challenges to the process. While the current environment related to the global pandemic has created a need to adjust traditional processes as it relates to communication, increased direct participation by the public at this time will prove to be extremely challenging. Such a process would require specific guidance from City Council as to the structure of an enhanced public review. Further details on public and stakeholder input currently undertaken are provided in the Public Engagement Section below.

History of City of Windsor Budget Processes & Property Tax Levy Increase

In order to assist City Council as they consider the 2021 budget process we have included below a history of the various budget processes undertaken since 2004 with the resulting annual impact to the property tax levy year over year.

Year	Description	Impact
2004	People Based Budget (City Council Committee)	8.1% Increase
2005	“Zero Based Budget” (City Council Committee)	2.7% Increase