2010 Toronto Budget Hearings

Transcription

1 2010 Toronto Budget Hearings City of Toronto Budget Advisory Committee Oral Deputation Carol Wilding President & CEO March 1, 2010 Check against Delivery 1 First Canadian Place, P.O. Box 60 Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5X 1C1 Tel: Fax:

2 Carol Wilding, President & CEO, Toronto Board of Trade City of Toronto Budget Advisory Committee Good evening Madame Chair and members of the committee. My name is Carol Wilding and I am president and CEO of the Toronto Board of Trade. With me is Vice President Richard Joy. Let me begin by saying that Toronto needs a long-term fiscal plan that will resolve its structural deficit. A solid fiscal plan is the best way to preserve and enhance city services. It s also the best way to create new jobs and attract investment to this great city. We have submitted a 27-page backgrounder with nine recommendations. In the next four minutes, I d like to briefly discuss three topics. The first is expenditures, and the value of forecasting. This 2010 budget includes a one-year forecast of non-sustainable budget pressures for Last week, Councillor Carroll said that forecasting was a good exercise because it forced this committee to focus. We agree: forecasting provides focus. In our report The Growing Chasm, we did a forecasting exercise that looked ahead not just one year, but ten years. 2

3 And we first shared the results of our forecasting exercise with city staff in the first week of January. Let me tell you quickly what we found out. Our research showed that the city s gross expenses have been rising at an average of 5.9% per year. But in our forecast, we assumed that expenses would grow at only 5% per year. That particular assumption more than captures the savings you have made in your 2009 collective bargaining agreement. Our forecast also takes into account the full value of uploading. And it factors in future TTC fare increases and property tax increases. And yet, it still forecast a deficit of $1.2 billion by With that in mind, your 2010 budget includes a total spending increase of 5.7 per cent. 5.7 is better than 5.9. You are headed in the right direction. But more needs to be done to get expenses under control. I would like to highlight one area you should focus on: the Toronto Transit Commission. The TTC s spending increased by 9 per cent this year. 3

4 Our research shows that, from 2002 to 2008, the TTC s workforce grew by 12 per cent, while its total kilometres operated grew by only 6 per cent. We also found that, had the TTC s productivity remained at 2003 levels from 2004 to 2008, the TTC would have saved $71 million dollars in So the Board is calling on Council to direct the Auditor General to conduct an overall audit of the TTC, so that council and all Torontonians can benefit from an impartial assessment of that institution. My second topic is economic development. After a tough recession, we are now seeing signs of economic recovery. And now is the time to act to bring jobs and investment to this great city. As Councillor Carroll has noted, despite a difficult budget year, this committee kept its commitment to the city s economic development policy, Enhancing Toronto s Business Climate. This policy calls for any levy increase to be shared two-thirds by residents and one-third by business. I commend you for your decision to maintain that commitment. This policy is the single most powerful lever this council holds to attract new jobs and new investment. But we urge you to adhere to the policy in both letter and spirit. Let me remind you what happened last year. 4

5 Like this year, last year s budget also announced tax increases of 4% for residents and 1.3% for businesses. But when the impacts of current value assessment were announced, just days before council s final budget vote, those numbers changed for business. Small businesses actually got a tax cut, which was welcome news. But all other businesses got hit with a substantial additional tax increase. That s because $19 million dollars in tax burden was shifted on to the commercial and industrial classes. By the time all was said and done, most businesses in the city opened their property tax bills to find an average increase of nearly 3 per cent. This unfortunate result jeopardizes jobs and investment. We are concerned that it will happen again this year. It shouldn t. You have options. For example, the Region of York recently passed a motion forbidding any further CVArelated tax shifting on to business. We are calling upon Council to pass a similar motion here in Toronto. Renew your commitment with a vote. Keep tax increases no higher than you have announced. And finally, let me speak about transparency. Once again this year, we await the staff report on CVA. It s an essential document with material impacts upon your announced levy increases. But it won t be made available until April 7. 5

6 As a result, this committee will never see it before it goes to a vote of council. We are concerned about that. We think you should be too. This document should have been released alongside the draft budget at the absolute latest. And failing to release it in a timely manner hampers transparency, accountability, and public participation. I will close by once again urging you to adopt a long-term fiscal plan that can preserve and enhance services while sending a clear signal that you are serious about jobs and investment. Thank you. I will now answer any questions you may have. 6