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Council Highlights
Archive
October 2007 |
 The
Council Highlights are provided as a service to
constituents in Ward 25. The following is a brief
summary of Council’s meeting held on October 22 and 23,
2007
Council approves new land transfer and vehicle ownership
taxes
Council approved the new
land transfer and vehicle ownership taxes on votes of
26-19 and 25-20 respectively. I voted AGAINST both taxes
– in my view they are being used to pay the costs of
provincial programs and new infrastructure, quite
unfairly for the citizens of Toronto.
The new Land Transfer Tax
will come into effect on February 1, 2008 but will not
apply to any agreement signed prior to December 31,
2007. First time buyers will receive a credit up to the
amount payable on a $400,000 purchase price. A late
amendment by the Mayor would reduce the LTT tax from
$16,475 to $15,725 on a property valued at $1 million.
The effective date of the new Vehicle Ownership Tax
Revenues is dependent upon negotiations with the
provincial government and is expected to be in the fall
of 2008. Revenues from the two new taxes in the first
year will be about $175 million. Subsequent revenues are
expected to be about $300 million per year (down from
the originally projected $356 million per year).
Unfortunately, a detailed estimate of administrative and
other costs of the new taxes is still outstanding.
In the first year, the
revenues will be used to balance the budget. However,
quite surprisingly, the Mayor moved that future revenue
from the two new taxes will be directed "exclusively to
capital and operating costs of new municipal
infrastructure." This is significant for two reasons.
First, it completely contradicts the Mayor’s previously
expressed rationale for the new taxes – that they were
necessary to maintain core services i.e. community
centres, outdoor ice rinks, snow removal, tree trimming,
etc. – thus providing no comfort to residents who are
concerned about the loss of current municipal services.
Second, it could institutionalize the unfair relief that
the development industry currently receives in funding
new municipal infrastructure through ridiculously low
development charges (DCs). (As previously reported, the
City receives about $4,000 in DCs for each new resident
of the City resulting from new development, but later
spends about $23,000 in providing municipal
infrastructure per person).
I thank the great many
residents who corresponded with me – on both sides of
this issue - for your information and perspectives.
Tax relief approved to enhance Toronto’s business
climate
Council approved taxation
relief for residual commercial class businesses to be
phased in from 2008 through to 2015 in order to remain
competitive with other Greater Toronto Area
municipalities. There are two assessment bands for
businesses impacted, depending on the type of commercial
property; businesses in band one will see their tax rate
step down annually drop from 3.41 (times the residential
rate) in 2008 to 2.5 in 2015, and in band two commercial
properties will be reduced from 3.55 in 2008 to 3 times
in 2015. Council also asked the provincial government to
accelerate reductions in its business education rate
(which taxes businesses located in Toronto at a higher
rate than those located in the 905 or other parts of the
Province), and for the power to change the way
properties (such as office buildings) are taxed while
under construction, through to the point of occupancy.
Creation of the City’s first ever Ombudsperson approved
The new position of
Ombudsperson was approved by Council. This new position
is required under the City of Toronto Act, 2006, and is
an accountability position. The Ombudsperson will report
to Council, and will be an objective investigator of the
people’s grievances and complaints; an option of last
resort for people who feel they have been treated
unfairly or an unresolved complaint about services or
programs. The Ombudsperson’s services will be free and
readily accessible to the public. Council’s approval
signaled the start of the hiring process. The Mayor and
four Councillors will conduct interviews and identify
the preferred candidate who must be ratified by a
two-thirds majority vote by Council. A direct reporting
relationship with Council will ensure the Ombudsperson
remains independent and impartial. An initial office
budget of $200,000 was approved, but once fully
operational an annual budget of approximately $1 million
is expected.
Sustainable Transportation Initiatives
Initiatives promoting
walking, cycling and improvements to public transit were
approved by Council as it adopted a series of short-term
proposals for sustainable transportation initiatives.
These initiatives are expected to encourage people to
use cars or vehicles less, and choose more
environment-friendly modes of transportation. Successful
outcomes will support the City’s climate change action
plan and public health goals, designed to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and their harm to the public.
Among the items adopted: more temporary pedestrian zones
where streets or areas are free of cars, promoting
walking; study the possibility of an east-west bike lane
along Bloor St. and Danforth Ave. from Royal York Rd. to
Victoria Park Ave., with potential implementation in
2009; actions on the transit front, such as changing the
traffic signals at intersections to allow streetcars to
travel faster along their routes, which will improve
service and encourage more people to take transit; and a
controversial experiment with pedestrian scrambles at
four major intersections (Bloor and Bay Sts., Bloor and
Yonge Sts. Yonge and Dundas Sts. and Bay and Dundas
Sts.) where vehicular traffic in all directions stop so
pedestrians can cross in any direction they please.
Move to Full Recovery – Tax-Related Administration Costs
Council adopted a new
policy on full-cost recovery on certain tax-related user
fees. Fees for certain services, such as Final Notice
for Overdue Tax Accounts, Notice of Issuance to Bailiff
and Statement of Tax Account, had previously been billed
at well below staff costs. Since most such notices are
typically incurred by a few and could easily be avoided
by on-time payment of taxes, Council felt that the
general taxpayer should not subsidize them. Staff has
estimated that the new schedule of fees will result in
almost $2.5 million of revenue in 2008.
Non-Council Item:
Right to Entry/Right to Access
City staff are once again
recommending that Council adopt a “Right to Access”
by-law that would permit a property owner to access
his/her property via a neighbour’s property in order to
perform repairs or alterations. A previous proposal,
requiring the neighbour to agree to permit access or
otherwise face a fine of up to $5,000, was rejected by
Committee last year for not properly balancing the needs
of the neighbour with the property owner. At that time,
a great many people expressed great concern that
alterations could include major renovations and
additions, and could involve the use of heavy equipment.
Providing such access could also deprive the
neighbouring property owner of quiet enjoyment of
his/her property for extended periods of time.
If
you wish to express an opinion on this issue, you may
speak to the Licensing and Standards Committee at its
November 30th meeting – or email them via the Clerk at
dting@toronto.ca. I would appreciate being copied on
your correspondence.
If
you wish to comment on any issue, please call or write
to me: 416-395-6408 or councillor_jenkins@toronto.ca.
Please feel free to forward these Council Highlights to
others who may be interested in these municipal issues.
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