TORONTO, Ont. – The City of Toronto has significantly more money than expected, with last year’s budget surplus pegged at $292 million.

That exceeds most forecasts, with Toronto’s hot real-estate market and the land-transfer tax getting much of the credit.

The Toronto Star reports nearly all of the budget surplus will be used to pay the city’s outstanding bill for replacing aging TTC streetcars.

The surplus, which exceeds initial forecasts by nearly $140 million, is expected to officially be reported Monday.

Although the surplus is set to be used on streetcars, in January council voted against Mayor Rob Ford and used $19 million in surplus funds to prevent cuts across the city.

In a letter to city staff, Ford thanked workers and officials for their efficiency, dedication and hard work.

“The hundreds of millions of dollars in permanent and sustainable savings that were realized in the 2012 Budget is a direct result of your tireless efforts throughout 2011 to contain costs while providing quality benefits to the residents of Toronto,” Ford wrote.

“The people of Toronto elected me to fix Toronto’s fiscal foundation and I want to thank you for helping to achieve that goal with me.  While the work is not quite done yet, we are closer today than ever before.  We can begin to build on that fiscal foundation to improve the lives of every resident and make Toronto the best city in the world to live, play, work and invest,” he added.