What is a Capital Budget and Forecast?
The City of Burlington Capital Budget and Forecast is where the city plans for upcoming years and identifies how to pay for city infrastructure projects such as road reconstruction, facilities, park improvements and public buildings.
These costs are similar to those planned by homeowners who renovate or add on to their home. The City of Burlington relies on a number of funding sources, some that occur each year and others that are one-time funds. Many new capital projects are funded from charges collected from those involved in new residential and business developments in the city. The city’s last major residential greenfield area in Alton is currently under development, which means that development charges to fund new facilities and services to the growth areas can be expected to decrease in future. While new development is expected to slow, the existing infrastructure-roads, bridges, sidewalks, storm sewers and recreational facilities- continue to age and require capital spending on renewal and replacement.
The capital budget process involves consideration of priority capital needs, financing capabilities, council directions, community needs and goals outlined in the city’s strategic plan Burlington, Our Future.
Both the federal and provincial governments have recognized the challenges faced by municipalities in renewing their aging infrastructure. They now provide a share of gasoline taxes to bridge the gap between available funding the repair needs of aging infrastructure. In Burlington, we direct federal and provincial gas tax toward transportation infrastructure, both roads and transit.