DEEP DIVIDES
Tory lauds unprecedented investment, as critics slam ’unfair’ city budget,
When Toronto council meets Wednesday there will be a clear divide on how the story of the 2017 budget will be told.
Is it, as Mayor John Tory and allies say, full of historic investments with unprecedented spending on poverty reduction?
Or, is it as council critics and advocates for vulnerable groups suggest, a budget that remains unfair and unsustainable, leaving those marginalized bearing the brunt of the cost?
What’s clear is that property taxes are unlikely to rise more than 2 per cent, less than the rate of inflation, as dictated by Tory — who promised during the campaign to do as much — and backed by both the budget committee and his hand-picked executive council.
Meanwhile, left-leaning councillors continue to point out that this budget does little to tackle the wait list for affordable housing or child care — 180,000 and 18,000 strong respectively — while raising user fees for city-run recreation programs and transit, which low-income families rely on.
As angry ratepayers packed a North York banquet hall this week to protest rising property taxes, faith leaders and social activists staged events of their own to decry spiking user fees, long wait lists for recreation and child care, and more. In his Empire Club of Canada speech Tuesday, Tory once again tried to leverage the province’s recent rejection of tolls to get more money for everything else.
Among other things, the mayor wants the province to match pending infrastructure funds from the federal government and expects them to help pay for the Don Valley Parkway and the Gardiner Expressway, which need more than $2 billion for upkeep and repair.
He did not present alternative options for raising capital funds re- quired to finance $33 billion worth of unfunded infrastructure projects.
The city is poised to approve a $12.3-billion operating budget and a $39.7-billion, 10-year capital budget plan on Wednesday.
Here are highlights of items still up for debate: Child care: After continued pressure from parents and advocates, the city reversed a decision to cut grants toward rent for daycares inside Toronto District School Board (TDSB) locations, which lower costs for those parents. Tory has also backed 300 new child-care subsidies, although critics have argued it does little to dent the wait-list. Housing and shelters: Although the city is funding 200 new shelter beds in 2017, advocates have brought attention to the proposed elimination of 12 frontline worker positions when those employees leave or retire. With shelters operating beyond approved capacities and rental costs rising across Toronto, frontline supports are seen as a lifeline for those who rely on shelters. A motion is expected to recommend reversing that $1.47-million cut. Proposed cuts to the Adelaide Resource Centre for women, from which eight city staff were expected to be redeployed, were earlier reversed and are not expected to be cut by council. Animal services: For the first time, the city is considering giving money to the Toronto Wildlife Centre, which relies on donations to do rescues and rehabilitations — work regularly referred from the city. The centre is planning to build a permanent facility in the Rouge National Urban Park, since its current site is slated for demolition. The proposed budget includes a one-time grant of $750,000 toward the new centre, from a fund for the redevelopment of the nearby former Beare Rd. landfill. Parks and recreation: A fight over funding for school pools is expected, as school board trustees rile up residents worried about potential closures. City staff proposed relocating programs from three schools to other city facilities nearby in order to save $261,000 in leasing costs paid to the school board, while maintaining programming.
The TDSB says it will be hardpressed to maintain operations without the city funding. The city has previously relocated programs from 11 school pools and none have closed. Meanwhile user fees for some city recreation programs are set to increase, beyond the rate of inflation in several categories. Transit investments and fares: Although the mayor says the city is spending $80 million on TTC investments, critics have pointed out several of those initiatives, such as money for new buses, only maintain the status quo by replacing an aging fleet — not adding service to crowded bus routes. Meanwhile, fares are budget- ed to increase for the sixth straight year, with non-cash fares going up by 10 cents per ride. Poverty reduction: Tory has trumpeted $185 million in spending on poverty-reduction initiatives. Unfunded, however, are two planned youth hubs in libraries in Jamestown and at Bathurst St. and Lawrence Ave. The total cost is $387,000. Salaries: Tory and the 44 city councillors are poised to approve a 2.1per-cent pay increase for themselves. Retroactive to January, it will boost Tory’s annual salary to $188,544 while councillors will collect $111,955. Councillor Michael Ford, however, plans to ask his colleagues to forego the raises, along with all city management and nonunion staff. The savings would be plowed into Toronto Community Housing repairs, child-care subsidies and TTC capital improvements. With files from Laurie Monsebraaten, Betsy Powell and Emily Mathieu