Holding Canada's Cities to Account: An Assessment of Municipal Fiscal Management

24 Pages Posted: 5 Jan 2012

Date Written: November 23, 2011

Abstract

Cities are the most visible level of government for most Canadians, providing services such as waste collection, policing and transit. Yet their budgets are the most opaque of any level of government. Municipalities generally use accounting in their budgets that does not match what they use in their financial reports. Peering through the messy numbers reveals that most cities routinely miss budget targets by large amounts. Councillors and taxpayers who seek to hold these municipal governments to account face a daunting task. Amid the mixed record, however, are some municipalities with clearer numbers and better records for spending control. That fact, along with improvements that have occurred at the federal and provincial levels in recent years, shows that progress is possible. The authors suggest five basic reforms would create clearer, more consistent budgets and would bring the financial management of Canada’s municipalities into line with their fiscal impact and their importance in Canadians’ lives.

Keywords: Fiscal & Tax Competitiveness, Governance and Public Institutions, Urban Issues Series, Canadian municipalities, fiscal management, municipal budgets

JEL Classification: H7, H8, H6

Suggested Citation

Dachis, Benjamin and Robson, William B. P., Holding Canada's Cities to Account: An Assessment of Municipal Fiscal Management (November 23, 2011). C.D. Howe Institute Vol. 145, November 2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1980302

Benjamin Dachis (Contact Author)

C.D. Howe Institute ( email )

67 Yonge St., Suite 300
Toronto, Ontario M5E 1J8
Canada

William B. P. Robson

C.D. Howe Institute ( email )

67 Yonge Street
Suite 300
Toronto, Ontario M5E 1J8
Canada
416-865-1904 (Phone)
416-865-1866 (Fax)

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