Kitchener council approves 2023 budget

Ontario Construction News staff writer

Kitchener council has approved its 2023 budget with $1 million for parks, trails and playgrounds.

“Council worked hard to balance various community priorities while completing their first budget of the 2023-2026 term,” said Mayor Berry Vrbanovic. “It reflects the community priorities identified through staff’s extensive consultation with residents and councillors’ conversations with their constituents.”

$1.5 million was earmarked for traffic calming, parks and playgrounds, free recreational programming, paving of trails and arts and culture.

Council also allocated capital funding for Love My Hood and RISE (Racialized and Indigenous Supports for Equity) community grants, and funding to advance the review of the City’s lodging house by-law.

“Through this budget, council has considered affordability for our residents while building upon our historic 2022 investments towards affordable housing via the Economic Development Investment Fund and Housing for All strategy,” Vrbanovic said.

The $1.6 billion capital budget is focused on infrastructure renewal and the city’s10-year forecast includes 400 projects.

Because supply chain and inflationary factors are increasing costs for some projects by up to 30 per cent, departments have had to adjust timing of projects in the forecast to work within available funding.

Kitchener expects the infrastructure gap (available vs required funding) was estimated to be about $442 million in 2020.

For more information about the 2023 budget, visit www.kitchener.ca/budget.

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