Thread by @GraphicMatt

At budget committee, Councillor Mike Layton has moved to eliminate the planned TTC fare increase and raise property taxes instead.

Layton has also moved to add funding for ravine litter pick-up, add youth hubs in libraries, and increase other services, all funded with increases to residential property taxes.

After the TTC fare motion, here are Layton’s other motions. Most require only a small offset with the residential property tax rate — a few thousandths of one percent.

A motion by budget committee member Councillor Shelley Carroll. She wants to increase library hours, funded by residential property tax increase of 0.11%.

Carroll notes that the budget is not even balanced yet, suggesting that if the federal government doesn’t come through with funding the city could be raiding reserves to achieve balance in the next couple of weeks.

Budget chief Gary Crawford moves to add $2 million in enhanced services to the city’s 2019 budget, offset by $2 million in reductions to… the city’s accountability offices. Huh.

Well, $600K in accountability office reductions, $1.4 million reduction in capital spending drawn from current revenues.

Crawford says both Tory and Keesmaat campaigned on keeping property taxes low, so it’s important that the budget committee stick to that.

“There are a lot of assumptions and predictions in this budget,” explains the budget chief. “That’s what budgets are all about.”

Crawford says he doesn’t “subscribe to the ideology” that property taxes need to rise to invest in the city. Ends by noting that Moody’s recently gave the city an AA1 credit rating.

(FYI: Moody’s also warned about Toronto’s “high deferred maintenance and reliance on land transfer taxes.”)

Layton’s motion to eliminate the TTC fare increase and instead raise property tax LOSES, 2-4. Layton and Caroll in favour, Bradford, Crawford, McKelvie, Nunziata opposed.

All of Layton’s other motions to enhanced services by increasing residential property taxes also LOSE on same voting lines. 2-4. Layton and Carroll in favour. Bradford, Crawford, McKelvie, Nunziata opposed.

Carroll’s motion to increase library hours funded by a residential property tax increase also loses 2-4.

Layton asks for a recorded vote on approving the police budget for 2019. He’s the only committee member to vote against it.

Layton asks to split Crawford’s motion about enhancing services, offset by reduction in the draft budget for accountability offices and capital spending.

He and Carroll vote for the service increases, but oppose the accountability office/capital reductions.

And the budget committee approves Toronto’s draft budget for 2019, 4-2. Carroll and Layton oppose. Next stop: executive committee, then council.

At some point, they’re actually going to need to balance this thing.