Budget showdown: Mayor seeks savings, agencies say there's no more to give

Mayor Josh Morgan and the heads of various city boards, agencies and commissions are heading for a budget battle on Wednesday. 

Morgan has asked the groups — including the London Public Library, the London Police Service, Museum London and others — to find savings in their budgets. His goal is to reduce the property tax increase for 2026 to five per per cent, down from the already approved 6.4 per cent. 

Many of those agencies have sent submissions to the committee all giving different versions on a similar theme: That they've made efforts to find efficiencies, but there's little or no room to give back more. 

In a four-page submission, London Police Service board chair Ryan Gauss said they're working to find savings, but can only go so far. 

"While cost-efficiency remains a priority ... No measures will be adopted that jeopardize service delivery or public safety," Gauss wrote. 

Little room to trim

In his submission to the committee, London & Middlesex Community Housing chair Phil Squire said they're facing budget pressure on multiple fronts. 

"Operating costs related to maintenance, insurance, security, and utilities have grown faster than inflation, while tenant rents remain constrained by legislated limits," Squire wrote.

He also said the LMCH's requirement to pay full property taxes for their buildings remains a challenge. 

Julie Bevan, Museum London's executive director, wrote in her submission that 52 per cent of their operating budget comes from the city. 

"Further budget reductions from the city will necessitate reduced operating hours, impact jobs and reduce our ability to attract investment from all levels of government," she wrote. 

Keeping the 2026 budget increase at five per cent will require about $13 million in savings across all agencies, boards and commissions. 

Likely getting flak from rate-payers

Former London Mayor Matt Brown, a veteran of past budget tussles, said finding savings won't be easy. 

Morgan and council are likely hearing criticism from homeowners who maybe didn't follow the budget debates but are now starting to notice the increases on their property tax bill, he said. 

"At this point I'm wondering if the mayor and council are hearing from the community that the rate increase is very difficult for constituents and they're trying to react to that," he said. 

Approved early last year, London's four-year budget included property tax increases that averaged 7.4 per cent. Driving much of the increase was an unprecedented $672 million budget boost for police. 

Since then, Morgan has tried to pare back the property tax increase. In the spring he and budget chair Elizabeth Peloza sent letters to the city's agencies, boards and commissions, asking them to identify areas in their budget where they could save. 

Brown said it's difficult to ask agencies to make deeper cuts to budgets already approved. 

"When you make an adjustment like this halfway through a four-year budget it can be really up-ending for the each of the organizations who've already done their planning," said Brown. "That's actually the purpose of a multi-year budget so you can align your strategic goals with the funding that you have."

Any budget updates approved Wednesday won't face a final vote until November.