The annual City budget allows the City to pay for necessary programs, services and infrastructure like emergency services, road maintenance, and public transit. It also enables us to save for the future and unexpected events, such as storms, floods and other emergencies that might lead to costly repairs.
Additionally, the budget allows us to invest in things that improve the quality of life in Mississauga and advance our growth plans. This includes maintaining our parks and outdoor recreational spaces, providing connected transit routes, and building places to play and vibrant communities.
Overall, the budget consists of an operating budget and capital budget. The capital budget allows us to purchase things like buses, while the operating budget allows us to pay for drivers and fuel.
Every year, the City budget funds more than 200 programs and services organized into service areas, including:
To gain a better understanding of where and how your property taxes are spent and invested, learn how the City spends money.
In June 2023, the Ontario government announced the expansion of strong mayor powers to 26 municipalities, including Mississauga. Strong mayor powers came into effect in the City as of July 1, 2023. Under this legislation, it is the Mayor’s responsibility to propose the budget. All mayoral decisions made under this legislation are available to the public.
Strong mayor powers is a statute in Ontario. It grants mayors of designated municipalities increased authority and responsibility over various governance matters. One of the powers and duties it grants to mayors is the authority to propose the budget and veto Council resolutions.
Once the Mayor proposes the budget, it is posted on mississauga.ca.
After the budget is proposed, Council has 30 days to pass any resolutions proposing amendments. If there are no amendments, the budget is adopted.
If there are any proposed amendments, within the subsequent 10 days, the Mayor can decide to veto Council’s resolutions. If the Mayor doesn’t veto, the budget is adopted.
If the Mayor does veto Council’s resolutions, within the subsequent 15 days, Council can vote to override the veto. This can be done if Council achieves a two-third majority (in Mississauga, Council needs eight votes to reach a majority). Regardless of the outcome of the vote, the budget is considered to be adopted at the end of this override period.
There are mechanisms that can shorten the review, veto and override periods. This means that the City may adopt the budget drafted by the Mayor within a shorter period.
Service areas prepare their business plans and budgets that align with the four corporate priorities:
Deliver the right services to set service levels that balance citizen service expectations and fiscal responsibility
Maintain City infrastructure to ensure the City’s assets are maintained at the level required to sustain the identified level of service and ensure economic success
Advance on the City’s strategic vision to ensure Mississauga is a global urban city recognized for its municipal leadership
To better understand how the budget gets funded, learn how the City gets money.