Markham earns top marks in report on 31 Canadian municipalities

City earned an A in C.D. Howe Institute’s annual report card on municipal fiscal transparency

Yorkregion.com
Feb. 3, 2021
Scarlett Liu

The City of Markham has earned an A (85 per cent score) in the C.D. Howe Institute’s annual report card on municipal fiscal transparency.

In “Time for an Upgrade: Fiscal Accountability in Canada’s Cities, 2020,” authors William B.P. Robson and Miles Wu grade the clarity, comprehensiveness and timeliness of the financial presentations of 31 major Canadian municipalities, based on their most recent budgets and financial statements, and prescribe some simple fixes to help the poor performers.

“Opaque and late budgets impede accountability,” said Robson. “Simple information, such as how much the municipality plans to spend this year, or how its spending plan this year compares with the previous year’s plan, can be hard even for experts to find.”

In the report, Robson pointed out that many use accounting and aggregation methods that only experts can reconcile with their financial statements. And councillors often vote on these non-transparent budgets after the fiscal year has started and money is already being spent.

Markham, however, stands out favourably from the competition. It scored top marks and placed first amongst Ontario municipalities.

“This is a reflection of our transparent, informative and accessible budget process. We continue to deliver exceptional services to residents while keeping taxes low,” said Mayor Frank Scarpitti.

He emphasized that Markham has maintained the lowest 16-year average property tax increase in the GTA and froze property taxes in 2021 to provide residents with further financial relief given the uncertain times.

“This acknowledgement by the C.D. Howe Institute is a testament to the hard work of Markham council and staff to ensure our budgets are well-communicated, timely and transparent,” the mayor added.

Although 2020 has come to an end, the impact of COVID-19 is far from over. Robson believes that the pandemic crisis and its impact on the revenues and expenses of all governments will make the fiscal capacity of Canada’s municipalities a pressing topic for years to come.

Cities will be under financial stress in the post-COVID era, elevating the importance of good understanding and intelligent debate about municipal finances.

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As for the post-pandemic plan, the city says Markham has continued to deliver essential services to the community during the difficult times. Staff will be monitoring the financial impacts of COVID-19 and provide regular updates to council.