Although not on the Council’s agenda, this is an important initiative launched this past week where the City is seeking input from residents.From November 1 to 30, Toronto residents are invited to share their ideas about the City’s 2024 Budget and Toronto’s future in virtual and in-person consultations and through an online survey available on the City’s 2024 Budget webpage.
The financial challenges faced by the City are real and impact the 2024 Budget and beyond. The City faces difficult financial decisions, including a projected $1.5 billion operating shortfall in the 2024 Budget and a $46.5 billion shortfall in the next ten years.
Urgent action must be taken to ensure a more stable and sustainable future for Toronto. That is why the City is at the table with the Province of Ontario and the Government of Canada to secure a new deal for the people of Toronto that will allow the City to build more affordable housing, improve the TTC and focus on Torontonians’ priorities now and for decades to come.
Virtual consultations
- Thursday, November 23, noon to 1:30 p.m. or 1:30 to 3 p.m.
- Tuesday, November 28, 7 to 8:30 p.m. or 8:30 to 10 p.m.
- Thursday, November 30, 7 to 8:30 p.m. or 8:30 to 10 p.m.
In-person consultations
- Monday, November 20, 7 to 8:30 p.m. or 8:30 to 10 p.m.,
Scarborough Civic Centre, 150 Borough Dr. - Tuesday, November 21, 7 to 8:30 p.m. or 8:30 to 10 p.m.,
Etobicoke Olympium, 590 Rathburn Rd. - Saturday, November 25, noon to 1:30 p.m. or 1:30 to 3 p.m.,
Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge St. - Monday, November 27, 7 to 8:30 p.m. or 8:30 to 10 p.m.,
North York Memorial Hall, 5110 Yonge St. - Wednesday, November 29, 7 to 8:30 p.m. or 8:30 to 10 p.m.,
Rexdale Community Hub, 21 Panorama Crt.
Participants are encouraged to register to receive reminders and notifications of any meeting changes. There are two time slots for each meeting and participants can choose their desired time during registration. To register, residents can visit the City’s 2024 Budget webpage.
The questions the City is asking online and at meetings are:
- What service do you think is most important for the City to invest in and why?
- What service should the City decrease funding to and why?
- Which of the intergovernmental requests Mayor Chow is seeking new or improved funding for is most important to you and your community?
- Which of the solutions for Toronto’s long-term financial security that Council has asked Staff to work towards are you most in support of?
- What is the most important action the City – and Torontonians – can take to make Toronto affordable, livable and equitable for all?
Mayor Chow and Toronto City Council will use the feedback to help inform decision making at the City and to support discussions with the Province of Ontario and the Government of Canada to secure a new deal for Toronto.
The results will be presented to the Budget Committee when the 2024 Budget launches on January 10, 2024 and will accompany the Budget Committee’s recommendations to Mayor Chow for the Mayor’s budget, which will be released by February 1, 2024.
Once the November consultations conclude, Toronto residents will have additional opportunities to engage in the 2024 Budget process online and in person by writing to members of the Budget Committee, local Councillors and Members of Council, attending a local Councillor’s Budget Townhall and speaking to members of the Budget Committee January 22 and 23, 2024.
More information about the 2024 Budget is available on the City’s Budget webpage.