New budget timelines

On Monday, November 6, Welland City Council held its kick-off meeting for the 2024 budget. Staff provided an overview of the new legislation in effect due to the City of Welland receiving Strong Mayor Powers. As of November 6, the 30-day window to complete the budget process began.

You can view the reports in the agenda and watch the meeting video here.

After hearing Council feedback on timelines and opportunities for further discussion, a new budget timetable has been prepared to enhance the process and improve opportunities for Council to ask questions.

Key points to remember:

Promoting engagement: Residents are encouraged to actively participate and engage in the City's budget. Information on the budget can be found on the City’s website and Engage Welland page.

Register as a delegation: Residents wishing to appear as a delegation to speak to the 2024 budget on November 15 can register through the Clerk’s office by emailing clerk@welland.ca. The deadline for registration is 4 p.m. on Tuesday, November 14. Delegations are limited to 10 minutes.

• Audio/visual presentations
  If you are making a presentation to Council with audio/visual needs, please forward the information to the office of the city clerk as soon as possible upon registration.
• Oral/written presentations
  A photocopy of speaking notes, if any, is requested as soon as possible upon registration.

Adhering to the 30-day window: The budget process must now follow the 30-day timeframe as mandated by the Act.

Rescheduled reports: The two reports that couldn't be discussed on November 6 due to a lack of quorum will now be discussed on November 13, right after the Legacy and Board presentations.

SCM #3 for Council questions: SCM #3 will focus on Council questions related to the budgets. Council members are encouraged to communicate directly with staff and save questions, particularly those meant for public discussion, for the meeting on November 15. Each councillor will have a five-minute time slot for their questions.

Dedicated Council amendment meetings: Two designated meetings for Council Amendments, one on November 27 and the other on December 5, have been added to the schedule. No further meetings can be scheduled after December 5 due to the 30-day window.