Survey and engagement results

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Project highlights

2. In 2023, the average residential property valued at $328,100 paid $3,809 in property taxes for all municipal services, including roads, sidewalks, pathways and trails, winter control, fire, police, recreation, parks, transit, garbage, and recycling. How would you rate the overall value received for your tax dollars?

3. Are there any current programs or services that you think Council should consider reducing or eliminating? If so, please list.

There were 74 responses to this question. Responses were summarized into the following themes:

• Budget reductions
  1. Police budget
  2. Non-core infrastructure spending like arts and flag-raising sets
  3. Reduce social service expense to invest in infrastructure or recreation
  4. Reduce administrative staff
  5. Fire services budget
  6. Reduce climate change spending
  7. No budget cuts should be on programs and services for residents
• Infrastructure and transportation
  1. Kingston should move away from car-centric infrastructure and planning
  2. Review bike lanes for usage
  3. Reduce roads and parking development so funding can be allocated to active transportation
  4. Bicycle initiatives
• Economic programs and services
  1. Universities should pay costs associated with large gatherings/parties
  2. Reduce tax breaks (if any) for larger companies and corporations, or on incentives for businesses to relocate to Kingston
  3. Drop reduced taxes for empty storefronts
  4. Eliminate funding to KEDCO and Tourism Kingston
• Environmental programs and services
  1. Stop subsidizing high-pollution industries like aviation and cruising
  2. Reduce garbage and green bin collection to every other week in winter
• Public services and urban planning
  1. The Integrated Care Hub
  2. Some recreation/festivals – they could go to the private or volunteer sector
  3. Reduction of the urban growth boundary to intensify growth over time and reduce costs to deliver municipal services
  4. Art/interactive displays downtown

4. Please identify whether you would support an increase in user fees for these services if this meant a reduction in the level of support from property taxes.

5. Do you have a project or idea that could positively impact your neighbourhood or community?

There were 92 responses to this question. Responses were summarized into the following themes:

• Urban Mobility and Infrastructure
  1. Expansion of bicycle infrastructure and protected bike lanes
  2. Foot patrols and enforcement in the downtown area
  3. Traffic calming measures, such as planters and bollards
  4. More bus/public transportation services to rural areas
• Environmental Conservation and Awareness
  1. Invasive species eradication and native plant promotion
  2. Nature talks and park/garden development
  3. Green initiatives like e-waste collection and solar panel installations
  4. Community-led climate education and campaigns
• Community Development and Services
  1. Utilization of public spaces for more activities and facilities
  2. Affordable housing initiatives and neighborhood watch programs
  3. Support for local events and festivals, such as mini-festivals and music events
  4. Initiatives for community gardening and composting
• Infrastructure and Civic Services
  1. Improvement of city roads and pavements
  2. Increased presence of garbage and recycling bins
  3. Enhanced staffing and services in libraries
  4. Property maintenance initiatives and neighborhood beautification
• Sustainable Development and Environmental Research
  1. Land acquisition for environmental research and community projects
  2. Frequency of transit services and initiatives for environmental sustainability
     

7. What budget engagement tools and/or activities do you think are most effective for engaging the community in the municipal budget process?
Note: Respondents could select more than one tool.

Those who selected “Other tools or events” specified the following:

• Promotional emails
• Offline promotion/engagement for those who do not have access to the Internet
• Social media (free or sponsored advertisements)
• Online education courses to help the public understand the basics of municipal budgeting
• YouTube videos
• Events that allow for families with children to participate
• Better advertising of events
• Sharing information/speaking with community groups
• Promoting specific information of departmental budgets, and how residents’ actions can impact
  • Promoting how to engage with local Councillors to discuss the budget and budget process
  • Incentives to participate, such as giveaways
  • Hard copy participation – flyer mail and community board notices
  • Relationship building

8. Is there any additional information we could provide that would be useful in understanding the City's operating and capital budgets? Note: Respondents could select more than one tool.

Those who selected “Other” specified the following:

• Who works on which projects
• Pecuniary interests
• How a 0% tax increase would affect services
• Visual statistical charts accompanied by brief explanations of why you want to go in the direction that you do
• For each service delivered by the City, how much goes into actually improving the target of the expenditure versus how much is spent on financing the bureaucrats and bureaucracy responsible for making the improvements
• More detailed financial and budget information easily available online to the public
• A breakdown of department salaries as a whole over five years
• Explain how resident actions can affect budgets. For example, by-law enforcement services. Let residences and businesses know that any time their actions require investigation and/or enforcement of by-laws, that this is adversely impacting their property tax bill
• Information about the cost of delivering municipal services per capita to different land uses and densities (urban, suburban, rural) to encourage the right development in the right areas. For example, the tiny homes project for veterans at King St/Portsmouth Ave project is a missed opportunity to provide a much higher residential density inside the urban boundary to avoid having to expand development in other areas
• Information about how all taxes are collected and spent
• How the police budget is developed, funded, monitored, and controlled
• How the City is staffed and how to increase staff and services
• Explanations of why residents may be taxed for services they do not use
• The climate implications of budget decisions
• Information about housing services/budgets

In-person pop-up events

Two in-person pop-up engagements were held – one at Springer Market Square and one at the INVISTA Centre. At both sessions, residents could provide input by placing a sticker on the white board indicating how they would rate the value received for their tax dollars and add an entry to the idea board by responding to the question, “Based on where you added your sticker, how could the city better use your tax dollars?

The following summarizes the results of these interactive activities. The picture below shows the results of the white board activity and the additional responses received. Responses were shortened for brevity and clarity. Feedback that did not follow the City of Kingston’s Guidelines for Participation was omitted.

Additional comments received:

• North of Highway 401 loses out on many services
• The Property Standards department should receive more money to address the condition of houses, specifically in the University District
• More bicycle infrastructure, park amenities for older children, keeping tree canopies in urban neighborhoods and public waterfront amenities
• Nothing – taxpayers get good value
• Program traffic lights as a system to increase efficiency
• Price of FitPass is too expensive
• Some neighbourhood streets/cul-de-sacs are not plowed fast enough
• Doctor shortage
• Bus routes, bicycle infrastructure, youth shelters, fix roads
• Tree trimming and maintenance needs to be more proactive
• Advanced road closure signage
• Waterfront improvement
• Better wayfinding for washrooms
• Green boxes for condominiums
• Righthand lane going north and south on Montreal/John Counter Boulevard
• Secure an airline provider
• Geese taking over some parks, making them undesirable
• Pedestrianize streets around City Hall in the summer
• Repair streets and potholes properly, following the right procedure
• Use Waaban Crossing for transit routes
• North of Highway 401 receives no road maintenance including grass and ditch cutting; roads also not maintained to support highway closures
• Better park amenities in Briceland Park
• There is quick service for parks and tree removal and excellent garbage removal in Kingston

Ideas Tool

The 2024 budget engagement utilized the “ideas” feature on the Get Involved Kingston Budget page. This tool provides the opportunity for the community to engage with each other by submitting creative ideas in response to a variety of questions. Others can see ideas once posted and show their support by “liking” their favourite ones.

The ideas tool was used solicit suggestions for increasing participation in the budget engagement process - what tools and activities will generate the most interest and how staff can encourage participation from an expanded and more diverse cross section of residents.

The following are comments submitted by registered Get Involved Kingston participants and by residents at in-person events. Responses were shortened for brevity and clarity. Feedback that did not follow the City of Kingston’s Guidelines for Participation were omitted.

What other ways can the City engage residents on the budget? Are there opportunities for us to bring more people into the conversation?

There were seven responses to this question. Ideas provided include:

1. Run bus ads with prompts (e.g. “You asked, we listened. Last year, the City invested xx on yy topic. Have your say at…”)
2. Further outreach including pop-up events, social media events and paid advertising
3. Use social media to promote the budget more
4. Visit high schools or youth organizations to educate on how the budget works and how to get involved
5. More diverse and targeted engagement strategies that use different tactics to reach various groups
6. Incentives to complete surveys
7. Hire post-secondary students who can support increased engagement activities