Draft 2024 Operating Budget and Feedback Opportunity

February 2, 2024

On behalf of the Community Services Department, we extend our thanks and appreciation for your continued patronage.

We are reaching out to share that the City of Belleville has released the Draft 2024 Operating Budget, which will be presented to Council on Feb. 27 and 28. To achieve the 2024 Council-approved guidelines, proposed amendments to the 2024 fee schedule for parks, recreation and culture programs and services have been included.

In July 2023, City staff engaged a consultant to conduct a comprehensive User Fee Review to evaluate the City’s current fee schedule and property tax subsidization rates against comparable municipalities, along with assessing the share of public vs private benefits associated with programs and services. While the goal had been to present the final report and recommendations to Council prior to completion of the City’s 2024 Operating Budget, the complexity of the review process, combined with an expedited budget schedule, means the final report will not be presented to Council until later this year.

We recognize the financial challenges our user groups and families face and appreciate that no one likes to see costs increase. The proposed increases are deemed necessary at this time, given the rising costs of providing programs and services and closely align with the consultant’s preliminary recommendations.

The Community Services Department remains committed to transparency and information sharing and encourages you to review the City’s Draft Operating Budget and share your feedback through the City’s online survey by Feb. 23.

Best regards,

City of Belleville
Community Services Department