City of Barrie wants residents to decide how to spend their tax dollars

Barrie, Ont. -

The City of Barrie wants its residents to weigh in on where they want to see their tax dollars going this budget season.

The city encourages taxpayers to learn about services and share what's important to them, so the city can determine how best to allocate the budget.

In a release on Thursday, Barrie's mayor said the ongoing impacts of the pandemic make it more important than ever "to understand the priorities of our residents."

The city has an online budget allocator tool that allows residents to test spending options for many of the city's services by increasing or decreasing funding.

"The budget allocator tool allows residents to help council with the choices around these services. After all, it's your money, so tell us how you want it spent and help us chart a course for Barrie's future," Mayor Jeff Lehman said.

The results from the budget allocator tool will be shared with city council during the 2022 Business Plan and Budget deliberations.

The budget is scheduled to be approved on Dec. 6.