This is what is bothering opponents...it's not the 4%...it's everything else.
PUBLICATION: National Post
DATE: 2009.02.11
EDITION: National
SECTION: News
PAGE: A1C
ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo: Aaron Lynett, National Post / Mayor DavidMiller and budget chief Shelley Carroll answer questions about the city's $8.7-billion operating budget. ; Chart/Graph: / ;
BYLINE: Allison Hanes
SOURCE: National Post
NOTE: Kuitenbrouwer, Page A10
WORD COUNT: 698
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Miller budget hides 'true' tax hike, say councillors; $8.7-Billion Plan
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A 4% residential property tax increase that Mayor David Miller said will cost the average Toronto household just 25¢ more a day does not even begin to reflect the true hit homeowners will take under the city's 2009 operating budget, a group of councillors charged yesterday.
A half-dozen fiscally conservative critics of the Mayor argued that user fees and other new costs mean Torontonians are actually in for a 10% hike worth an extra $395 this year -- more than quadruple the $89 that Mr. Miller said the budget will cost owners of the average city residence.
"We think the budget committee should be telling the truth," said Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong (Don Valley East) as the group unfurled a banner with "10%" scrawled in red. "If we're going to be having a debate about the budget and tax increases, we should be talking about at least 10% -- and that's a conservative number."
Mr. Miller yesterday unveiled an $8.7-billion "recession" budget for 2009, up from last year's $8.2-billion operating budget.
The city is relying on a 4% residential property tax hike; smaller commercial property tax hikes; $102-million in efficiencies; and $43-million from reserves to patch a$697-million hole and balance the books.
Presented under the theme "Toronto Helps," the budget focuses on preserving services and protecting the vulnerable.
It includes $33-million to fund a welfare caseload that is expected to average 90,000 recipients a month over the year. The load now sits at 81,000, up from 76,000 last year, but is expected to soar to 100,000 recipients by the end of 2009.
The city will also spend $23-million on programs and services aimed at helping the least fortunate, including $1.3-million worth of new and enhanced programs like a topped-up rent bank, emergency loans to cover rent deposits and an expanded property tax deferral or cancellation program exclusively for seniors and the disabled.
"The average family tax bill will increase by less than 25¢ a day to ensure help is there when everyone needs it the most," Mr. Miller said. "With a modest property tax increase, we each pay what we can to ensure that no one -- your neighbour, your co-worker, your friends, even your family --gets left behind."
New property taxes will generate an extra $83-million for the city --$57-million from the residential side and $26-million from business.
In the last recession, property
SOURCE: CITY OF TORONTO
taxes surged 13% to cover the growing welfare caseload, said the Mayor, while TTC service was cut and fares shot up.
This budget proposes to freeze Toronto Transit Commission fares at $2.75, along with the controversial land-transfer, vehicle registration and garbage collection taxes, but other fees for city services will increase 3.7% across the board.
"The proposed budget also includes an inflationary increase to most user fees, providing an additional $6.6-million in revenue out of over $396-million in user fees collected each year to offset the cost of programs," Mr. Miller said.
But Councillor Karen Stintz (Eglinton Lawrence) said the city is digging much deeper into Torontonians' pockets.
"The water rate increase of 9% is approximately $47 on the average home. The car tax, assuming 1.5 cars, is $90. The garbage tax if you assume the medium bin is $133. The pet tax, if you happen to have a cat or a dog, is $25," she said. "The impact of the commercial tax shift ... this year is $11 on an average house. And the property tax increase, that they tout at 4%, is about $89. And if you add that all up, it's $395, which is well above any municipality in the Greater Toronto Area."
JONATHON RIVAIT / NATIONAL POST
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BY THE NUMBERS
$102M Amount of budget savings the city found through "efficiencies."
$70M Amount of that "efficiency" the city found by simply not filling some vacant positions.
$150M The amount a blue ribbon panel reported last year the city could save if it looked for efficiencies.
$679M The size of a budget shortfall the city was facing before it found ways to fill the hole.
$43M The amount taken from reserves to help bridget the gap.
$0 The amount the city now has left in its reserves for welfare.
22,000 The additional number of seniors and disabled people eligible for property tax relief under expanded deferral and cancellation programs.
? The hidden amount socked away under non-program expenditures for a wage increase offer to indoor and outdoor city workers but not revealed yesterday to avoid negotiating in public."
$83M The amount in extra property tax revenue the city will take in from residential and commercial hikes.
$6.6M The amount of extra user fees the city will collect for a range of services.
$160M The amount the city is expecting to take in from the land transfer tax this year, which is down 25% from original projections of $240 million.
$46M The amount the city is expecting to collect from the vehicle registration tax this year.