City of Waterloo 2024-2026 Budget

This Strategic Story is just one example of how the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan and community feedback helped inform the 2024-2026 staff tabled budget.

Complete Community:

Fire safety education, fire code enforcement and emergency response contribute to public safety and improved quality of life for all.

What we heard

When residents shared their vision for the future of Waterloo, common themes included:

I’m concerned with fire response coverage across the City, dealing with the expected population boom, and the challenges of increased height and density of our buildings.

Fire safety education needs to be easy to understand and for different audiences (children, students, newcomers, seniors) as well as those who would help educate them (parents, caregivers).

More people are living together because of the housing crisis, are their homes up to code for fire safety? Renters like students need to know the requirements for a fire-safe space and how to verify (like testing alarms).

Why it's important

Our City is growing and changing, and our Fire Rescue Services need to grow and change with it. To support our plans to add 16,000 housing units by 2031, and target prevention education to the diverse audiences in our community, we need more resources, including staff, vehicles and equipment.

What we're doing

With budget adoption, we will phase in the hiring of additional firefighters, and the purchase of the vehicles and equipment needed to support public safety needs as our community grows, ages, and as buildings get higher and closer together. We’ll also expand our public education and fire code enforcement activities, considering the needs of our postsecondary students, older adults and our diverse population with English as an additional language with inclusive programming. Neighbourhood safety is a key component of a high quality of life for all residents, and fire personnel will have the additional resources and training to respond to all types of situations.

Read more Strategic Stories.

This Strategic Story is just one example of how the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan and community feedback helped inform the 2024-2026 staff tabled budget.

Infrastructure and Active Transportation:

We’re providing residents with resilient public infrastructure and sustainable active transportation solutions.

What we heard

When residents shared their vision for the future of Waterloo, common themes included:

Ensure safe, clearly signed and well maintained infrastructure that supports transit, cycling, and pedestrians, not only car transportation.

Some of the things the City has been working towards relating to active transportation, pedestrians and public transit are great (i.e. multi use trail network) but more is needed.

I imagine being able to walk to a grocery store, bike to a local theatre, and take a bus / rail to the mall.

Why it's important

Active transportation is a big part of how many people get around in Waterloo, with growing demand! Investing in active transportation infrastructure provides more sustainable transportation options for everyone, whether you’re just leaving the car at home for the day or don’t have one at all. Active transportation for regular commutes, for exercise, or to access transit all contributes to greenhouse gas reductions and our overall community wellbeing.

What we're doing

With budget adoption, you will see projects to add additional kilometres of multi-use trails and paths, additional sidewalks, and new cycling facilities to the City’s active transportation network. We’ll support existing infrastructure with upgrades like pedestrian lighting and other trail improvements on the Brighton Trailhead and Laurel Greenway. We’ll also support new development areas by adding trails on the West Side, install the Laurel Creek Trail around the Laurel Creek Conservation Area, and upgrade both pedestrian and cycling facilities along Union Street.

Read more Strategic Stories.

This Strategic Story is just one example of how the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan and community feedback helped inform the 2024-2026 staff tabled budget.

Innovation and Future-Ready:

Digital service improves customer service and prioritizes accessibility for all residents in the community.

What we heard

When residents shared their vision for the future of Waterloo, comment themes included:

My vision for Waterloo includes full ability to easily access any city data or info needed and applications coming through online.

Digitize processes, services and objects wherever possible and move things to the cloud so it’s accessible online.

It can be challenging to initially register and get used to the online system they use.

Why it's important

Technology continues to change the way we live, work, and interact. Residents rely on the waterloo.ca website as the main source of information about our programs and services, but our website is also transitioning from an information source to a customer service tool. People should be able to book, sign up, pay for, and check the status of all kinds of things online, in addition to requesting information or telling us something. We need to make sure that the customer experience on our website is user-focused, inclusive, accessible and welcoming, just like our in-person customer service.

What we're doing

With budget adoption, you will see the expansion of digital services available on the waterloo.ca website. We’ll make sure the way you access information and services makes sense, and will involve residents in testing to make sure these services meet your needs. We will also improve the legacy services that are already online, making them as user-friendly and accessible as possible. We’ll continue to share information online, and continue moving that information out of pdf documents that need to be downloaded and into more accessible formats (that can also be translated).

Read more Strategic Stories.

Through a carefully planned budget we deliver valuable services to residents. In Waterloo there are two different budget cycles during a four-year term of city council:

• in year one, a single-year budget is adopted - 2023 budget adopted on February 13, 2023
• in years two to four, a three-year budget is adopted - budget for 2024 to 2026 will be adopted on February 12, 2024

Budget priorities are guided by our strategic plan and direct engagement with the community. City departments then write business plans that reflect these priorities and inform the final staff tabled budget that is presented to city council.

Our budget is also guided by the Core Consumer Price Index Policy which states that CPIX acts as a guideline for base and growth tax increases, with service level and infrastructure increases considered above inflation. Staff table a recommendation on our tax increase to council based on our strategic plan, public engagement and current CPIX related policy, which is subject to council's adoption.

City council considers the budget as tabled by staff and adopts the capital and operating budget after public consultation and business plans are presented.

• A capital budget covers new investments or replace assets such as roads, city facilities, or buying new vehicles that are under the city's control.
• Operating covers the day-to-day activities such as fuels, insurance, utilities, supplies and salaries. The operating budget also considers the Core Consumer Price Index Policy, as mentioned above.

To learn more about Waterloo's budget watch our video: