Belleville 2027 draft budget survey

The City of Belleville is inviting the community to take part in the 2027 budget process and have their say.

The Preliminary Budget Survey is the first opportunity for the community to share feedback and help shape priorities for the 2027 budget. Participants are encouraged to complete the survey by June 6.

Survey results will be presented to the Finance Committee and Council to help guide budget development. Draft budgets will then be prepared and shared publicly, with additional opportunities for residents to review and provide feedback later in the process.

For more information on the budget process, visit Belleville.ca/Budget.

Survey questions

This preliminary budget survey is meant to engage stakeholders in the early stages of the budget process and allow them to provide their feedback on operational and capital spending priorities, as well as the overall approach to budget development.

The results of the survey will be presented to the Finance Committee and Council to assist with the development of guidelines for budget preparation later this year. To learn more about the City’s budget process and to review past budgets adopted by Council, visit Belleville.ca/Budget.

1. Do you live and/or own a business in Belleville?

• I am a homeowner
• I am a business owner
• I am a tenant
• One or more of the above
• None of the above (please specify)

2. What is your tax billing area?

• Belleville Urban
• Belleville Rural
• Cannifton Urban
• Cannifton Rural
• Cannifton Rural to Urban

3. How familiar are you with how the City develops the annual Capital and Operating Budgets?

• Very familiar
• Somewhat familiar
• Not at all familiar

4. Due to the increased cost of maintaining service levels and supporting infrastructure, the City must balance property taxes with increasing demand for services. The City has a number of options when balancing the budget, which includes the management of discretionary services. Please indicate which of the following statements below comes close to capturing your point of view:

• Increase taxes to an extent that maintains tax-funded services.
• Maintain taxes, even if it means reducing some discretionary tax-funded services.
• Increase taxes to expand and/or enhance tax-funded services.
• Decrease taxes by reducing discretionary tax-funded services (please specify what services should be reduced). [textbox]

5. For each of services listed below that are directly or indirectly provided by the City, please indicate whether the level of service should be increased, maintained, or decreased. For reference, the 2026 operating budget provides information on spending by service areas.

• Building, planning, and development
• Bylaw enforcement
• Community Events
• Doctor Recruitment
• Economic development
• Firefighting and fire prevention
• Greenspaces (parks and playgrounds, sports fields)
• Heritage, museums, and cultural events
• Information technology (online forms/apps, cybersecurity, public Wi-Fi)
• Library services
• Long-term care (externally contracted)
• Parking
• Policing
• Public transit
• Recreation (arenas, camps, aquatics, fitness)
• Road and sidewalk maintenance
• Social Housing (externally contracted)
• Stormwater management
• Traffic and pedestrian safety (streetlights and signs)
• Winter maintenance (snowplowing, sanding, and salting)
• Waste and recycling collection (externally contracted)
• Water and wastewater services

6. The following services are partially funded user fees. Please identify which service(s) you would support an increase in user fees to reduce reliance on property taxes (select all that apply) 

• Arenas
• Museum & Culture Services
• Recreation Programs
• Pools
• Sports Fields
• Transit (only applicable to Belleville Urban tax billing area)
• Garbage Bag Tags
• Dog Tags/Licenses/Permits
• None of the above

7. Which cost saving measures should Council focus on when facing budget pressures? (select up to three)

• Limiting growth in City staff
• Reviewing how services are delivered
• Increasing or expanding user fees
• Delaying investment in capital program
• Using reserve funds to reduce impacts
• Seeking grants or other funding

8.The City updates its Departmental Operating Plan in the annual budget process.

This document provides a comprehensive overview of past accomplishments, strategic objectives, operational goals, key initiatives, key performance indicators, and budget projections for the upcoming year.

Based on the City’s existing Key Performance Indicators, are there additional performance indicators and/or activities that you would like the City to regularly report on?

• No
• Yes (please specify)

9. The Capital Budget is the City’s plan for making large investments in infrastructure.

Capital expenses include major maintenance to public buildings, construction or purchase of new buildings, purchase of major equipment, significant road resurfacing projects, water and wastewater infrastructure, and more.

In your opinion, how important is maintaining existing infrastructure in the community?

• Very important
• Somewhat important
• Not important
• Unsure

10. In your opinion, how important is adding new infrastructure to the community to service growth?

• Very important
• Somewhat important
• Not important
• Unsure

11. In accordance with the Asset Management Plan, the City must prioritize Capital projects and annually update its 10-year capital plan. In your opinion, select the most important infrastructure areas. (select all that apply)

• Transportation (e.g., roads, streetlights, bridges)
• Water (e.g., treatment plant, water pipes)
• Wastewater (e.g., treatment plant, wastewater pipes)
• Stormwater (e.g., culverts, stormwater manholes)
• City Facilities (e.g., community & recreation centres, City Hall)
• Parks (e.g., playgrounds)
• Fire (e.g., firetrucks, fire stations)
• Police (e.g., patrol vehicles, police station)
• Fleet & Equipment (e.g., snowplows, lawnmowers)
• Information Technology (e.g., servers, computer equipment)
• Library (i.e., facility, books)
• Parking (i.e., parking lots, meters)
• Land development (industrial, commercial and tourism)

12. Where do you receive information about the City’s budget?

• City website
• City Council meetings
• Community Press
• Social Media
• Billboards/marquees
• Other (please specify)

13. What is one specific change you would most like Council to consider for the 2027 budget, or additional information would you like to know? Please be as specific as possible (service, program or approach).