Your phone may ring through Friday, Nov. 27, with a polling firm on the line asking what you think of Milton's property taxes, user fees and service levels. Forum Research is running the telephone survey for the Town of Milton, and the answers will help shape the 2027 budget.
The calls started Monday, Nov. 2. The Town says the results will also help inform its user fee policies, the charges residents pay for specific services rather than through the tax bill.
Not everyone will get a call: Forum Research interviewers are phoning randomly selected residents. Taking part is voluntary and takes about 15 minutes. Responses are anonymous and confidential, and individual answers won't be shared with the Town.
Milton's operating budget, paid for by property taxes, user fees and other revenue, covers day-to-day costs such as winter road maintenance, grass cutting, recreation programs, and fire and transit services.
Under Ontario's strong-mayor rules, Milton's mayor proposes the Town's budget. Council can amend it, the mayor can veto those changes, and council can override a veto. That job falls to George Minakakis, who won the mayor's race in the 2026 election. He and the new council will be sworn in on Monday, Nov. 16.
The phone survey is the second round of public input. The Town first asked residents for their budget priorities online over the summer, and feedback received by Aug. 21 was to be included in a Sept. 14 report to council on the budget pressures it expected.
Next, the Town plans to release a Budget Reference Document this month and hold a council workshop in December. The mayor's budget is due in January, when council is scheduled to consider and finalize it.
Residents who don't get a call can still weigh in on the 2027 Budget page of Let's Talk Milton, the Town's online engagement site.
