Funding Hamilton transit
NRU
July 18, 2018
Rachael Williams
Hamilton’s transit area rating may be on its way out after the 2018 municipal election.
Councillors representing the city’s pre-amalgamation wards say they are eager to see transit put on the general tax levy to ensure residents across the city are paying their fair share for the service.
“Everybody should be part of making those investments to facilitate a better system,” said Ward 8 councillor Terry Whitehead, who represents West Hamilton Mountain.
Area rating is a policy that imposes different tax rates depending on geographical boundaries. It dates back to amalgamation, when the former City of Hamilton (wards one through eight) merged with outlying suburban and rural wards in the Region of Hamilton-Wentworth, including Stoney Creek, Ancaster, Flamborough, Dundas and Glanbrook. Area rating was introduced to help the suburban areas through the difficult and expensive process of merging with the City of Hamilton.
When it was introduced, area rating applied to fire, recreation and transit services. A decade of negotiations between inner city councillors and those representing the outlying communities have resulted in the harmonization of fire and recreation.
However, transit remains an outstanding issue, with suburban residents only paying for the transit they receive.
“Many municipalities in Ontario, including Kingston, Greater Sudbury and Belleville area rate some services such as fire, transit and waste collection,” said communications officer Jacqueline Durlov in a statement from the city’s finance department.
Durlov explained that while transit is normally area-rated based on an urban/rural model, Hamilton’s transit service is area-rated based on the number of kilometres serviced in each former municipality.
For instance, Ancaster pays a 2.5 per cent transit levy for the services it receives, while Hamilton’s urban areas pay a transit levy of approximately 8 per cent.
“Those same councillors in those suburban areas are making decisions on transit anyways,” said Ward 2 councillor Jason Farr. “They have opinions on game changers like light rail and they’re chiming in with votes and representing a number of constituents that may not be paying for transit in general.”
Opponents of Hamilton’s proposed 14-kilometre LRT that would run between Eastgate Square to McMaster University were predominantly from the outlying suburban areas.
“But even if you aren’t someone who’s going to use increased transit service, you still benefit from it by getting more cars off the road and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Environment Hamilton’s climate change campaign coordinator Ian Borsuk. “We know congestion is going to be getting worse once Hamilton’s population grows and if we all start paying for transit, we can build a more integrated service that people will use.”
Durlov told NRU if the rates are harmonized, area rated transit rates would decrease in former City of Hamilton wards, while they would increase in suburban areas. No additional levy would be generated.
“You’re not adding any money into the pot, you’re just equalizing the pot,” said Whitehead.
To date, equalization has been addressed through a special fund that wards in the former city receive to compensate for the higher taxes they pay than their suburban counterparts. Wards one through eight receive $1.7-million per year to maintain and/or upgrade the former city’s infrastructure.
But a recent Ontario Municipal Board decision recently imposed new ward boundaries in the City of Hamilton after two residents appealed council’s preferred option, which essentially maintained the status quo. The new boundaries include adding a new Mountain Ward and reorganizing former city wards to include suburban areas not eligible for this special funding. Councillors elected in the 2018 municipal election will have to decide how area rating will be applied across these new ward boundaries --if at all.
“I do believe in the next term of council it’s something that needs to be addressed,” said Farr.
