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Council Highlights
Archive
October
2005 |
As a service to residents of Ward 25, I provide a brief
summary of the highlights of the City Council meeting of
October 26 to 28, 2005.
Tax relief for businesses / Tax increases for homeowners
Council approved a strategy to reduce the tax burden on
businesses – with the hope that it will contribute to
keeping them in
Toronto. The plan will gradually shift a fraction of
the property tax load currently paid by businesses to
the residential property class rate over a period of 15
years, starting in 2006. The change will add about $20
per year to the average Ward 25 household’s annual tax
bill, rising to about $300 annually in the final year.
That amount is over (and would be compounded by) any
annual tax increase, running at 3% in recent years, and
any effects of changes in Current Value Assessment.
While I welcome tax relief for the commercial sector, I
oppose increasing the tax burden on homeowners. I
advocated that the City could easily fund the commercial
tax relief by increasing development charges instead of
raising residential tax rates. In my view, it is
ridiculous that the City prefers to burden residential
property owners with increased taxes to pay for our
declining infrastructure while failing to levy
appropriate charges for new residential development
which is placing significant additional strains on our
services and infrastructure. If you have an opinion on
this, I encourage you to make it known to Mayor Miller
at
mayor_miller@toronto.ca
or send a copy to me and I will ensure is passed along
to his office.
Election campaign finances – Integrity in Government
Council acted
strongly on two separate items. First, Council endorsed
a motion by Councillor Michael Walker and myself to
reaffirm Council’s commitment to campaign finance reform
and to remind the provincial government of Council’s
previous request for enabling legislation which would
allow us to implement election finance reform. By
ending corporate and union contributions to candidates
(among other measures), I strongly believe that the
influence of lobbyists and special interest groups would
be reduced at Council – and, over time, we would see
more community-oriented candidates elected to Council.
Secondly, on a
matter within our own jurisdiction, Council decided to
end the practice of offering tax rebates to corporations
and unions that contribute money to the candidate’s
election campaign. And, as a condition of candidates’
participation in the 2006 Election Contribution Rebate
Program, any campaign surpluses must be given to the
City of Toronto. These latter measures will result in a
saving of $2 – 3 million for the City and may, very
slightly, reduce corporate and union donations – in the
event the provincial government fails to act on
Council’s request, above.
I have received
a great deal of correspondence on this matter – 100% of
it in favour of election finance reform. I encourage
interested citizens to make their views on this topic
known to our MPP Kathleen Wynne at
kwynne.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org and Premier Dalton
McGuinty at
Dalton.mcguinty@premier.gov.on.ca.
If they do not act in time
for the
January 1, 2006
municipal election kick-off, candidates will operate by
the current, and in my opinion, flawed election finance
rules. In any case, I renew my personal commitment from
the last election not to accept corporate or union
contributions and will be encouraging all municipal
candidates including my incumbent colleagues to take the
pledge in 2006.
Committee
of Adjustment – North Panel
Council debated
motions by Councillor David Shiner, with respect to our
own Committee of Adjustment. His first motion, which I
opposed at Community Council, was to fire the members of
the Committee and replace them by previously identified
alternates. This motion was ruled out of order by Mayor
Miller on the grounds that it violated the principles of
natural justice. The subsequent motion was amended by
Council and passed to permit an investigation into
matters relating to a minor variance request now being
considered by the Committee. The variance request, if
granted, would permit a developer to increase the number
of units from 280 to 481 in a residential development at
Bayview and Sheppard in Councillor Shiner’s ward. The
Committee has chosen to seek Council’s advice on whether
there should be additional community consultation on the
application, instead of ruling on it immediately.
Independent study of York Region sewer plan
Council took action to oppose plans
for a major sewer line expansion supporting development
in York Region north of Toronto – a sewer project that
many observers contend will damage the watershed on
which Toronto depends. Council approved funding for an
independent study of the “big pipe” project north of the
city and will ask Ontario’s environment minister to
defer provincial approval of the 19th Avenue
sewer (which would traverse the Oak Ridges Moraine and
sensitive aquifers) in order to permit consideration of
alternatives. In addition, the City is asking for an
assessment of potential impacts under the
Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.
Soccer
stadium for Toronto
Plans for a 20,000-seat soccer
stadium at Exhibition Place won Council’s support.
Council’s decision includes the commitment of about $10
million in City funding to the project. The federal and
Ontario governments have committed a total of $35
million and private-sector partner Maple Leaf Sports and
Entertainment has agreed to contribute $18 million to
the stadium’s construction. The waterfront facility is
expected to cost about $63 million to build. The
Canadian Soccer Association is also a key supporter of
the project.
Renewable
energy in Toronto
Energy consumption and air pollution
were the focus as Council directed staff to create an
action plan aimed at increasing the City’s use of energy
from renewable sources. Further, the City’s
“green-power” strategy will encourage all Torontonians
to choose green power over fossil fuels whenever
possible.
Child
care spaces in Toronto
Council endorsed the allocation of federal funding that
will create about 6,000 additional child care spaces in
Toronto over the next three years. The province is
overseeing implementation of the national child care
program through its Best Start initiative. The City
will use its $125 million in Best Start funding to build
on Toronto’s existing Child Care Service Plan.
Affordable housing projects
Council approved funding for two
affordable housing projects, mostly involving money
available to the City under the Canada-Ontario
Affordable Housing Program. One project will involve
Toronto Artscape’s development of 26 live-work units in
the Wychwood Green/Arts Barn initiative. The other
project will involve the City’s purchase of a downtown
property at 110 Edward St. for the creation of what is
expected to amount to about 300 units of affordable and
mixed-use housing.
Survey of homeless
population
Council approved a plan to assess the needs of homeless
people in Toronto. Staff, volunteers and community
agencies will conduct this survey one night next spring.
Neighbourhood support strategy
Council adopted a Strong
Neighbourhoods Strategy that builds on the City’s
current efforts at community building (such as the
Community Safety Plan established last year). The
Strong Neighbourhoods Strategy, which involves
co-ordinating resources and creating new partnerships,
identifies 13 priority neighbourhoods for investment in
their social and physical infrastructures. Specific
financial resources for those investments will be
determined during the City’s 2006 budget process.
Motorcycle
parking
Operators of motorcycles will benefit
from a decision to give them free parking on Toronto
streets. Council agreed to amend City bylaws in order to
exempt motorcycles from parking fees at on-street
parking meters/machines. The rationale is that parking
receipts tend to disappear from parked motorcycles,
resulting in unwarranted parking fines. Council also
wants the Toronto Parking Authority to consider
designating areas for motorcycle parking at its parking
lots.
Non-Council Items
1.
The provincial government has confirmed my
appointment to the Board of Directors for the Municipal
Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC). As a Director,
I will work for greater openness and accountability in
MPAC’s assessment processes.
2.
In a related item, MPAC has released the 2005
property assessments to all property owners in the
City. While the average increase in the City was under
12%, the average increase in Ward 25 exceeded 12% - and,
most unfortunately, I am receiving reports of increases
which are much, much greater. Please call my office at
416-395-6408 if you wish to seek our advice and
recommendations in dealing with your new property
assessment. Since assessment policy is legislated by
the provincial government, I encourage you to make any
concerns you have known to our MPP Kathleen Wynne, at
kwynne.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org.
For more information on City matters,
please see my website
www.cliffjenkins.com, or call my office at
416-395-6408. If you wish to UNSUBSCRIBE to my Council
Highlights, please let me know by return e-mail.
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