What’s in, what’s out: Here’s what you need to know about Toronto’s 2019 budget

Thestar.com
March 8, 2019
David Rider, Jennifer Pagliaro

Amid sagging revenues and a pledge to restrain property taxes, Toronto city council passed an austerity budget Thursday with relatively little new spending and a $79-million hole.

Mayor John Tory convinced a majority of 25 councillors to honour his low-tax pledge and curb ambitions, despite booming population growth and demand on services. Land transfer tax revenues, once a buoyant source of cash for new programs, are expected to continue drooping in 2019.

“The Gardiner is consuming 53 per cent of your state-of-good-repair transportation budget although it only represents 1.32 per cent of your (roadway) lane kilometres in the city. It does beg the question: ‘If we weren't looking after that, what other roads could we look after as well?’ ” said City Manager Chris Murray as city council debated the 2019 budget.

Efforts by some to boost taxes to do more to help low-income Torontonians failed amid concerns about the effect on homeowners, especially senior citizens.

Toronto’s 2019 budget has a fiscal pothole yet to be filled. Council is banking on Ottawa coughing up $45 million to help shelter refugees, and directed staff to find ways to cut $34 million.

Here are the nuts and bolts of this city budget:

The Big Tickets

Operating: Every year, the property taxes you pay are split between many services -- road maintenance, parks upkeep and libraries, for example. But no single service receives more money than Toronto police. In 2019, the average homeowner will provide $703.31 -- or 23 per cent of their total taxes -- for this year’s more than $1-billion budget of which the vast majority will be used for officer salaries that are expected to rise above inflation this year for front-line cops.

Capital: One giant budget suck is keeping parts of the Gardiner Expressway aloft. City manager Chris Murray told councillors: “The Gardiner is consuming 53 per cent of your state-of-good-repair transportation budget although it only represents 1.32 per cent of your (roadway) lane kilometres in the city. It does beg the question: ‘If we weren't looking after that, what other roads could we look after as well?’ ”

This budget includes $132 million to rehabilitate the stretch between Jarvis and Cherry Sts., the first contract in a 10-year, $2.3-billion plan to fix the deck and move it closer to the rail corridor. Council previously voted for that “hybrid” plan, which frees up some valuable land but was the most expensive of options that included replacing it with an at-grade boulevard.

What’s in, what’s out

In: “There are not a lot of extras,” budget chief Councillor Gary Crawford declared amid sagging revenues. The plan includes more than $60 million in new spending, about half of it aimed at poverty reduction programs.

New spending includes: $7 million for the “Housing Now” plan to get affordable rental housing built on what is now city land; $2.5 million more for the youth equity strategy; $1.15 million for future arts and culture investments; $300,000 for the Scarborough work youth employment plan; $222,400 for menstrual products and dispensers for users of homeless shelters, respite centres and 24-7 drop-ins; $208,000 to boost Sunday library hours; and up to $120,000 for a program to help seniors share their homes with students.

Out: For every bit of new spending that gets in, there is often an item that doesn’t make it. Some of these are last-minute attempts from councillors, but many this year were efforts to have council fund programs and strategies that were previously approved but now not fully funded. Initiatives that were moved but not funded include: $3.4 million for the first phase of the Open Hours program to increase library hours across the city; $1.45 million for eight additional hubs for at-risk youth; and $135,500 to increase staffing for tenants help hotline.

Property taxes

Torontonians are among the lowest taxed in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area -- and must remain so, say Tory and his allies. The budget boosted residential property tax bills by 2.55 per cent -- in line with inflation as Tory again promised during the 2018 election. It rises to 3.58 per cent when you include a hike in the city-building fund for housing and transit projects. The owner of a Toronto home assessed at $665,605 home will pay $3,020 in property taxes -- $104 more than last year, not including garbage and water fees. Tory critic Gord Perks tried, and failed, to convince colleagues to raise taxes by an extra 2 per cent to generate $60 million more to improve services.