Toronto City Councillor
Ward 25 Don Valley West

 The Council Highlights are provided as a service to Ward 25 constituents.  The following is a summary of the City Council meeting of December 11, 12 and 13, 2007. 

2008 Capital Budget relies heavily on debt financing to pay for growth-related infrastructure

City Council approved a Capital Budget of $1.6 billion for 2008, an increase of about 7% over 2007.  While there were certainly some worthwhile capital investments included in this year’s budget, overall I felt it relied too heavily on debt financing and took no steps to curb the unfair practice of residential taxpayers subsidizing the development industry, by picking up the lion’s share of growth-related infrastructure costs.  Consequently, I voted against the 2008 Capital Budget.   

On the positive side, the capital investments include:

1. about $750 million for the TTC, including the purchase of new buses and hybrid buses, Wheel-Trans buses, and a down payment on new subway cars;
2. $112.5 million for road and bridge construction projects;
3. 3-1-1 technology to provide residents with better access to City services when the 3-1-1 centre launches in late 2008; and
4. $59.7 million for new, larger recycling carts, and green-bin programs for apartment buildings.

On the negative side were two particularly telling line items in the Capital Budget:

1. growth-related capital expenditures:  $308 million; and
2. development charge revenues:  $31 million.

Development charges are supposed to pay for growth-related capital expenditures.  Instead, we are financing about 90% of our growth-related spending with debt which is paid for by property taxes from our operating budget.  Regrettably, that has led the City down a path where each year we are diverting more money from operational services to make up the shortfall in capital investment.

 Our CFO confirmed that the $277 million shortfall above translates into about a 1.5% tax increase – for 10 years.  Hence the average Ward 25 property taxpayer (including tenants) will pay $90/year for 10 years, i.e. $900, for the City’s failure to achieve fair development charges in 2008.  That essentially is your subsidy to a very profitable industry – the development industry – and it is an explicit demonstration of the City’s failure to levy fair development charges.

Revitalizing Union Station

Union Station, a critical piece of transit infrastructure for Toronto, will be revitalized through an approach that received Council approval.  The plan will lead to an improved experience for rail passengers.  In debate, two visions for Union Station were presented – one that the City must retain ownership of a critical transportation hub, the other that Union Station is an asset serving people in the GTA and beyond, as well as various transportation companies, and hence the risks and rewards of ownership might be more fairly assumed beyond the City.  The latter was never seriously considered by staff or by Council, and the City will retain ownership of Union Station, and create a vast new retail space that will be leased out to a private sector partner to recoup the costs.  Also to be built is a concourse area for GO Transit.  Funds will also be dedicated to restoring the structure, which welcomes rail passengers from GO and VIA, as well as the TTC.

Sunday Construction Noise Ban Extended to Apartment Neighbourhoods

On my motion, Council overturned a recommendation of the Licensing and Standards Committee on Sunday (and holiday) construction noise.  The Committee had recommended that the Sunday ban, long championed by Councillor Karen Stintz and adopted by Council in 2006 for single-family residential neighbourhoods, be rescinded.  My motion, not only overturned that, but extended the Sunday construction noise ban to all areas of the City.  While certain types of infrequent construction noise are exempted (e.g. continuous concrete pour and crane placement), as well as non-noisy construction (e.g. dry-walling, painting), the construction noise ban will now provide relief to apartment neighbourhoods in addition to single-family home neighbourhoods.

Tax incentive program approved to attract industry and jobs to Toronto

Council approved the creation of a new tax incentive program for key industries to draw investment and jobs to the city in key economic sectors.  The Tax Increment Equivalent Growth program will provide tax incentives over a five-year period to attract investment in such industries as the life sciences – biotechnology, information technology, environmentally-friendly products, tourism, the film and other screen based industries, and manufacturing.  The program will give priority to projects that use green building standards such as LEED. 

Council will stop purchasing Blue Jays tickets starting the 2008 season

Council voted not to purchase Toronto Blue Jays tickets for the 2008 season, forgoing the seats which were located in a private box.  The $95,000 in savings will be referred to the Budget Committee for recommendation on how it can be invested into programming in priority neighbourhoods.   

Airport taxis and limousines must have a City licence to pick up Toronto passengers

Effective February 1, 2008, the City will begin enforcement against taxis and limousines that are picking up passengers in Toronto, but do not have a City licence to do so.  Council approved changes to language in the City bylaws to improve clarity on this issue.  Bylaw officers from Municipal Licensing & Standards and the Toronto Police Service will work in partnership on the enforcement.                               

Councillor expense policies to be consolidated

Council approved a motion to consolidate the current policies on councillor office expenses into one, to improve clarity of the rules and the ability to enforce them.  The recommended policy is expected for the April 2008 Council meeting.  Council also adopted my amendment that the City’s Integrity Commissioner will also advise Council on the practice of outside organizations, including companies that do business with the City, funding events for Councillors in their wards.  While such events often provide a valuable focus for communities, they are sometimes used to provide a positive profile for Councillors – with expenses assumed, in whole or in part, by private companies that have interests in doing business with the City.

 Report ‘Tied In Knots’ identifies ways to improve affordable housing in Toronto

The City wants to unlock the potential of Toronto’s social housing communities with recommendations for improvements.  Among them is a call on the provincial government to upload the full operating and capital costs of maintaining the current housing stock, and for the federal government to reinvest funds from federal social housing agreements back into social housing to ensure its viability.  Council also requested the Toronto Community Housing Corporation to initiate a program displaying the current poor state of the City’s social housing stock, and the link to inadequate funding support from the provincial and federal governments.  This initiative is further demonstration that the provincial downloading, which grew in 2007 to $729 million, is in fact greater than the budgetary numbers demonstrate.