A councillor fears that her proposed motion to cut the proposed 2026 tax levy by a third may not see the light of day after a council meeting on budget amendments was cancelled.
Corinna Traill, Councillor for Ward 3 in Clarington, says if a council meeting is not convened by December 12, the proposed tax increase will pass unchanged at 3 per cent, the next day.
The councillor expressed deep concern about democratic accountability and fiscal transparency after the November 24 Special Budget Meeting, was cancelled preventing debate on her several amendments, which included a lower tax increase, major cost-savings, and reductions to political office spending.
Traill said she had submitted her amendments before the noon deadline, but they were rejected because no member of council agreed to second any of them—a requirement for them to be placed on the agenda. The clerk confirmed that without amendments on the agenda, the budget meeting must be cancelled, said Traill.
Democratic Process Concerns
“Without a seconder, there is no meeting. Without a meeting, there is no debate. Without debate, there is no democracy,” Traill said.
In addition to her own amendments being blocked from debate, Traill expressed concern that no other member of council submitted any amendments whatsoever. “In a budget of this size—containing new hires, increased political office budgets, contracting costs, consulting fees, and a tax increase—it is difficult to believe that not a single councillor saw anything worth questioning or improving,” she said. “The public expects active oversight, not passive acceptance.”
Unless the mayor or a majority of councillors call a special meeting before December 12, the mayor’s proposed budget—including the full tax increase and all spending increases—will be automatically adopted December 13 without a single council vote, Traill pointed out.
“A full municipal budget being passed with no debate and no vote is unprecedented in Clarington,” Traill said. “This is not transparent, accountable, or democratic governance.”
Traill says her amendment package included:
- Lowering the tax increase from 3 per cent to 2 per cent to give taxpayers relief during a cost-of-living crisis.
- Halting or reducing costly new staff hires; or, requiring individual votes on each new position.
- Freezing mayor and councillor salaries immediately and for the 2026-2030 term;
- Reducing political office spending, including the mayor’s discretionary budgets (conferences, receptions, advertising, tributes, and miscellaneous spending).
- Reducing or eliminating multiple inflated budget lines (consulting, professional fees, and unassigned departmental expenses) where 2026 requests far exceeded previous years’ actual spending.
- Implementing modern, transparent ‘service-based budgeting’ where residents can clearly see what each municipal service costs and how spending decisions affect them.
Traill said she will be releasing her full amendment package publicly so residents can review the proposals their council declined to debate.