Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow says this year’s $17 billion operating budget, which includes a 9.5 per cent tax bump for homeowners, will fully fund the construction of the Scarborough busway.
Chow unveiled the 2024 budget Thursday at Scarborough Centre Station, a former stop on the now decommissioned Scarborough Rapid Transit line (SRT), announcing her plans to fund the conversion of the SRT to a dedicated busway.
Funding for the busway, which is now projected to cost $67.9 million, was not included in the staff-proposed budget released on Jan. 10, a decision that drew criticism from many transit advocates.
“Scarborough residents had some of the longest commutes. They deserve reliable and convenient public transit. Fully funding the busway means saving Scarborough transit riders 20 minutes each day,” Chow said Thursday.
“That’s valuable time they can spend with their friends and loved ones.”
The mayor also confirmed that her proposed budget includes an eight per cent property tax hike and a 1.5 per cent increase to the City Building Fund for housing and transit, a detail that was previously reported by CP24 and CTV News Toronto on Wednesday night.
Chow's proposed tax hike is lower than the amount pitched by city staff, which called for a nine per cent property tax increase, as well as a 1.5 per cent increase to the City Building Fund.
To pay for this difference, there will be a “one-time withdrawal” of $42.2 million from the city’s Tax Stabilization Reserve Fund, according to budget documents.
Chow said the tax hike she is proposing represents “less than a dollar a day for the average household.”
The hike, if approved, would amount to the largest tax increase since amalgamation. Before his resignation last year, mayor John Tory’s last budget included a seven per cent tax hike for homeowners.
“I am not willing to cut service anymore. I am not willing to see the city decline,” Chow said.
“I am not willing to see potholes everywhere, to run into water fountains that don’t work, washrooms that are closed.”
New money for state of good repair work
The mayor’s draft budget sets aside $50 million for a fund dubbed the “Back on Track Fund,” money that will be used for urgent state of good repair work to “accelerate much needed capital projects” and clean up potholes, parks, and public spaces across Toronto.
Chow noted that her budget also adds a $100 million dollar investment, over three years, to retain affordable housing units in the city.
“In the face of the $1.8 billion hole in our budget, while Torontonians are facing an affordability crisis, we cannot use cuts to the services people depend on as our way out of a mess,” Chow said in a letter to councillors.
She added that the city has worked to address the financial pressures and fill budget gaps by finding more than half a billion dollars in “efficiencies and offsets,” drawing on reserves “as much as can be done responsibility,” and securing funding from the provincial and federal governments.
Chow said she is confident the federal government will come through with more funding to support refugee claimants arriving in Toronto.
In a press release Wednesday night, the Trudeau government pledged a $362 million boost to a 2023-2024 fund to help provinces and municipalities “address extraordinary interim housing pressures” related to asylum claimants. The feds did not say how much of this money will be allocated to the City of Toronto.
“There will be more to come in terms of all of the details of how much and when,” Chow told reporters when asked about the funding Thursday. “You will hear some news soon.”
No additional money for police
The mayor’s budget did not include the additional cash that was requested by the Toronto Police Services Board for the 2024 police budget.
The board had asked for an increase of around $20 million, but that increase was shaved by about $12 million in the staff-proposed budget. Police have been outspoken about the change, with Chief Myron Demkiw suggesting that it could affect wait times, as well as the level of service expected by the public from Toronto Police.
“In this budget there are funds to hire paramedics, emergency staff, firefighters, and this year, there will be 200 new police officers, civilians, that will be joining the police force,” Chow said in response to a question about the board’s request.
Chow's proposed budget allocates $8 million to resolve "outstanding debates raised by councillors" during budget discussions on Feb. 14, including windrow clearing services, funding to festivals, the arts, and community safety.
The police chief held a news conference in response to the draft budget on Thursday, warning of “very serious consequences” if the police service is not given the additional cash.
Demkiw added that the budget increase request of $20 million was the “leanest it could be.”
“Without the $12.6 million, what’s is going to have happen is we will have to evaluate all of our service delivery and look at what other essential services we are going to have to degrade or cut altogether in order to make sure we do what we can to address our core service needs,” he said.
Demkiw said that the budget constraints will hinder the police service’s ability to hire new officers and added that Neighbourhood Community Officers Program is an item that could be on the chopping block.
“We will make those hard decisions but they are going to be difficult decisions that are going to be felt across the city in various ways,” he said.
