Budget committee rejects councillors’ attempt to scrap TTC fare increase and improve library hours

Thestar.com
February 21, 2019
Jennifer Pagliaro

With the city’s budget headed for sign-off by Mayor John Tory’s inner circle, his budget chief is hailing a plan that keeps property taxes low.

On Wednesday, the budget committee rejected attempts by two of its members to scrap planned TTC fare hikes, create new dedicated youth spaces, increase library hours and start regular cleanup of the city’s ravines.

The city's budget plan relies on a 10 cent TTC fare hike.

Those and other services which are currently not included in this budget would cost $31.7 million and could be, Councillors Mike Layton and Shelley Carroll proposed, funded with an additional residential property tax increase of approximately 1 per cent.

That increase would cost the average homeowner an additional $30.63 in 2019 -- the same as six grande lattes from Starbucks, or about three 6-packs of the new No Name beer from the LCBO. The average homeowner has a house with an assessed value of $665,605.

The final decision about what to fund and not to fund is up to council at a meeting next month.

Following the vote Wednesday, budget chief Councillor Gary Crawford sent out a statement praising the work of the committee.

“Despite a very tough budget year, we have approved a budget that ensures no services have been cut and makes key investments in many services including the TTC, policing, libraries, and housing,” said Crawford. “I’m extremely proud that for the fifth year in a row, the budget delivers on Mayor Tory’s promise to limit the property tax increase to at or below the rate of inflation -- a pledge that was overwhelmingly endorsed by voters across the city in the last election.”

The $13.5 billion operating budget as it stands would see an inflationary-only residential property tax increase of 2.55 per cent, while falling behind on several multi-year plans to increase recreation spaces, library hours and other programs.

The budget is also balanced on a 10 cent TTC fare increase and still has a $79 million hole, which staff confirmed Wednesday has yet to be filled.

At committee, Layton asked his fellow committee members to do better with this budget.

“I found it two things: One, very uninspired -- that we’re doing little to actually address some of the major issues in this city around transportation, transit and housing,” he said. “We haven’t authorized staff to be bold in their actions and strategies. We’ve in fact tried to restrain them by giving them direction year over year that really doesn’t inspire.”

Secondly, he called the budget “unfair.”

“I am not proud that we are a city that puts so much of the cost of our transit system on the back of transit riders,” Layton said.

Unfair too, he said, is that past councils have continuously left the city’s long-term finances on shaky ground with the city’s capital repairs backlog set to dramatically increase over the next 10 years.

Among other things, Layton’s and Carroll’s proposal would have:

• Reversed the planned TTC fare increase and instead raise the needed $25.6 million for the transit commission’s operating budget through a 0.842 per cent property tax increase.
• Created 10 new dedicated youth hubs in priority areas across the city at a cost of $1.7 million by raising taxes 0.056 per cent.
• Implemented the first phase of the library’s extensive Open Hours plan to improve branch service across the city at a cost of $3.35 million by raising property taxes 0.11 per cent.
• Started a pilot project to pick up litter in the city’s ravines at a cost of $655,400 by increasing property taxes 0.022 per cent.
• Only councillors Layton and Carroll supported those motions. Councillors Crawford, Brad Bradford, Jennifer McKelvie and Frances Nunziata were opposed.

 

The budget will now be reviewed by executive committee on March 4 and goes to council for final approval on March 7.