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k10ery said:
I agree that's the strategy, but I can't see Ford wanting to raise taxes. He wants to cut, only probably he doesn't want to cut libraries. We'll find out in September and we're supposed to be relieved "it's only that". (My guess: asset sales.)
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He's already on record saying a 1.8% tax increase is "reasonable" and he'd limit any tax hike to 3%, so I expect this to be in there and tied to a lower chopping to fire and police services.

As for asset sales, Doug Ford is on the record wanting to double or triple the THCH properties on the market (identified by Ooates). I think we'll have more of this in the mix from an ideological point of view, but I don't think it'll have a significant on budget or debt levels. A few dozen million isn't going to make a dent in our $4.4 billion debt.

gweed123 said:
Cut expenses first, then reduce the revenue to match, not cut revenue and then try and find enough expense cuts to balance the budget. The conversation should have gone: "Ok, I have done an evaluation of the City expenses, and I have found this much that could potentially be cut without impacting services. Given that, we can give you an X% tax break." That would have been much more civil and forward thinking than the "Ok, I have just cancelled Transit City, removed the Vehicle Registration Tax, and frozen property taxes. Now, let's find some places where we can cut in the budget so that we don't go bankrupt."
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That's a sound strategy if you want effienct government, but the Ford Brothers are of the smaller government mindset. "Starve the beast" by moving the budget into a structural deficit and then complain there is no money to continue these programs, chop everything possible and then rince and repeat. Ford is the same breed as Harris, Harper, or Thatcher.
 
Mapleson said:
He's already on record saying a 1.8% tax increase is "reasonable" and he'd limit any tax hike to 3%, so I expect this to be in there and tied to a lower chopping to fire and police services.
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Good point. But CPI inflation is now running above 3% year-over-year, so a 1.8% increase for the first time in 2 years is a big tax cut. (Even taking out food costs, CPI is well above 1.8% in the past year.)
 
k10ery said:
Good point. But CPI inflation is now running above 3% year-over-year, so a 1.8% increase for the first time in 2 years is a big tax cut. (Even taking out food costs, CPI is well above 1.8% in the past year.)
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That is assuming property values remained constant, our main source of City income. After a couple soft years in 2008 and 2009, property values in Toronto rose an average of 9% last year and projected to rise 5% this year.

Average real estate prices in Toronto, corrected for inflation
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A 3% tax hike represents about $250 million to the budget. If I was Rob Ford, I'd bite the bullet and apply these monies to extra debt repayments (from $440 million to $690 million) and pay off the City debt by 2030.
 
Mapleson said:
That is assuming property values remained constant, our main source of City income.
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If property values go up, it doesn't automatically effect the cities income.

The procedure is, to figure out the budget, figure out the tax base, and then EVERY YEAR divide the tax base by the budget, to get the mill rate.

So for 2011 when the tax rate was frozen, what really happened is the mill rate dropped (because the 2011 valuation for properties was higher than in 2010).

But I assumed you knew this ... perhaps I'm missing your point!
 
Mapleson, I was about to say that the city budgets for the increase in the average residential levy amount in dollars, and the mill rate automatically adjusts to what MPAC says is happening to property values. So a 1.8% increase is exactly that. But it looks like nfitz already made the same point.
 
gweed123 said:
I'm not opposed to the idea of Ford cutting some 'gravy', but I think the way he went about it is entirely wrong. Many city departments are pretty bloated, and I do agree that something needs to change in that department.
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I'll describe my best case scenario though it might irritate some people here.

Let's imagine the Fords do cut some gravy and we get costs under control for things like TTC going forward. But in the process he pisses off the voters and loses the next election. Then we get back to city building, but with a slightly cheaper government.

That's the best case to be sure.
 
Right you guys are. There are a couple threads in Toronto issues where discussion of taxes makes sense, please take the discussion there.
 
ladyscraper said:
I tried asking this too before everything got derailed... I'm still kinda confused over when the construction is starting.
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I believe they're just doing prep work at the launch sites. The TBMs won't be launched until next summer.
 
BMO said:
I believe they're just doing prep work at the launch sites. The TBMs won't be launched until next summer.
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The prep work includes digging a portal/hole to start the TBMs from, including rerouting Eglinton. At $25.2 million, I wouldn't call it "just doing prep work".

I thought construction was to start last month ... I'd have thought there would be some signs of them mobing by now.
 
nfitz said:
If property values go up, it doesn't automatically effect the cities income.
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Well, it does increase the amount of land transfer tax we collect particularly as first time buyer housing stock crosses the $400,000 boundary.
 
nfitz said:
The prep work includes digging a portal/hole to start the TBMs from, including rerouting Eglinton. At $25.2 million, I wouldn't call it "just doing prep work".

I thought construction was to start last month ... I'd have thought there would be some signs of them mobing by now.
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I would consider digging a hole, just to allow for digging the real subway tunnel, prep-work.
 
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