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Provincial election campaigns will soon to kick into full throttle and many Torontonians will be putting their energy into pressuring candidates to take a stand on uploading. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Upload social services!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d we’ll scream, as well we should — Ontario is the only province in Canada that requires its cities to pay for provincially mandated social programs such as welfare and drug benefits out of its property taxes, and Toronto spent $729 million on these programs last year. Next year, we’re anticipating a budget shortfall of $575 million.<\/p>\n
The opportunity to convince the candidates of the importance of uploading social services is what city council’s July 16 vote to defer a decision on new taxes was all about — right? The logic goes like this: if the 23 local politicians who voted for the deferral played their cards right and the party that wins on October 10 comes through for Toronto, we might not have to pay any new taxes at all and we can go back to enjoying life as it was (sans cutbacks) before this whole financial fiasco started! The reality, however, is that new taxes (a.k.a. revenue tools) are going to be needed no matter what happens.<\/p>\n
Even the NDP’s plan — which some have mocked as pie in the sky — wouldn’t relieve us of the need for the new land transfer and vehicle registration taxes. Were Howard Hampton to become premier, Toronto would save $221 million next year thanks to uploaded services and new transit funding. That still leaves a $354 million shortfall that the $83 million in service cuts planned for next year doesn’t even come close to covering.<\/p>\n
The fact is that a city of over two million people shouldn’t be relying primarily on property taxes to pay its bills. Forty-one per cent of our funding comes from property taxes, while in the United States, they account for 18 percent a municipality’s income. Having diverse sources of revenue is essential for any large city and if we expect to retain our quality of life and continue to invest in our city’s future, new taxes are essential.<\/p>\n
As it turns out, provincial candidates aren’t the only ones we have to lobby over the next month; we also need to put the pressure on our local councillors, who are scheduled to vote on the taxes after the provincial election in October. It’s time to send the message loud and clear: vote for the new taxes this fall!<\/p>\n
The mayor’s office renovations, which have been put off as a result of the service cuts, have been priced at $1.2 million, not $3 million as I reported last week.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The $3 million figure includes work to create a new committee room on the second floor and a new protocol lounge, neither of which are connected to the mayor’s office plans,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says Stuart Green, deputy director of communications. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153How do I know this? Because I am losing an office as a result of the cost-containment measures and will continue to work in a hallway that used to be a closet.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"