Mayor Olivia Chow's Toronto

[evandyk]

It's really provincial law. You're allowed to evict tenants to do extensive renovations. There's provision for a right of first refusal to move back in after the renos, but people need to live somewhere, so mostly tenants will move on with their lives. And if they don't, you take some small portion of that $4M you're about to get from the sale to buy them out.

 

[evandyk]

I think the way she handled the budget and tax increase was pretty masterful. Everybody mostly knew Toronto needed higher taxes, and she just came in and did it with no drama.

More on Chow's budgeting mastery...

Matt Elliott: A year ago Toronto’s budget was a dumpster fire. Now the city’s running a surprise surplus. What happened?

There are two main reasons why this week council will debate the first budget report since before the COVID-19 pandemic to offer relatively good news.

www.thestar.com

I wonder if the stormwater charge issue will have more salience this year?

 

[Northern Light]

More on Chow's budgeting mastery...

Matt Elliott: A year ago Toronto’s budget was a dumpster fire. Now the city’s running a surprise surplus. What happened?

There are two main reasons why this week council will debate the first budget report since before the COVID-19 pandemic to offer relatively good news.

www.thestar.com

I wonder if the stormwater charge issue will have more salience this year?

I think the choice is going to be to pursue the parking levy rather than the stormwater one.

The two overlap.

Both punish surface parking; but the stormwater tax is a bit more complex to implement and would effect a lot of SFH for relatively little tax revenue.

 

[evandyk]

Either way, hopefully this year they come back, tell people they took the time to do the due diligence, select the best option, then get something passed.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I think the choice is going to be to pursue the parking levy rather than the stormwater one.

The two overlap.

Both punish surface parking; but the stormwater tax is a bit more complex to implement and would effect a lot of SFH for relatively little tax revenue.

Though the stormwater tax is probably an easier sell when we just had that storm event - and she can probably use the "rain tax" label to her benefit now.

AoD

 

[generalcanada]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1816600513556689086

Where they have redirected the funds from the gardiner and dvp upload

 

[EddyMCD]

So does this mean no absurd tax increase again next year?

 

[Richard White]

So does this mean no absurd tax increase again next year?

It does not.

It's likely this will be to cover the cost overruns for renaming Dundas Square, renaming a street for cultural significance and possibly money to assist with reports.

If the city did actually have an extra 2 billion, it would be better served as funding for the TTC or for things like street cleaning.

 

[PL1]

So does this mean no absurd tax increase again next year?

"Absurd"? After years of absurd "efficiencies" that hamstrung the city? Toronto is still underrated undertaxed. Autocorrect!

 

[Northern Light]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1816600513556689086

Where they have redirected the funds from the gardiner and dvp upload

I reported this out on the previous page in the thread:

Mayor Olivia Chow's Toronto

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-ferry-purchase-approved-1.7252366 Not sure where to put this. Not much that’s new, except that the ferries will be built in Romania, and cost $92M vs. the 25M originally proposed (wow). This is really a story of two things...........design...

urbantoronto.ca

So does this mean no absurd tax increase again next year?

200M per year, give or take, when the deficit in capital funding is in the tens of billions..............

Surely you jest.

After years of failing to increase taxes in line with inflation, or population growth.......there is a piper to pay.........

I expect this year's increase on the property tax side will be lower, but still above current inflation........but there will likely be a Commercial Parking Levy among other revenue generating moves.

Its likely that what will come up for approval this year still won't be enough to rectify the City's long term challenges, but it will reduce the gap to something more manageable.

 

[picard102]

It does not.

It's likely this will be to cover the cost overruns for renaming Dundas Square, renaming a street for cultural significance and possibly money to assist with reports.

If the city did actually have an extra 2 billion, it would be better served as funding for the TTC or for things like street cleaning.

Except it's listed where this money is going, and it's none of that.

 

[evandyk]

I wonder what's happening with Land Transfer Tax revenues these days? It must be declining, and is a big slice of revenue.