Toronto executive committee approves 1.3% residential tax hike
Posted February 9, 2016 2:54 pm.
Last Updated February 9, 2016 3:30 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Mayor John Tory’s executive committee has approved a property tax hike of 1.3 per cent, but the city manager is warning that keeping things this way isn’t sustainable.
The hike, which is at the rate of inflation, will happen only if city council gives it the thumbs-up next week at their special council meeting.
City manager Peter Wallace has warned that next year’s budget will have to be very different because doing things this way isn’t sustainable.
“If we make appropriate decisions we will not find a crisis situation, we will not find ourselves in any difficulty. But this is the challenge in front of us,” Wallace said.
Deputy Mayor Denzil Minnan Wong agrees.
“We haven’t been focusing enough on efficiencies and savings and that discussion has to take place, I think, immediately after the budget.” Minnan Wong said.
Budget chief Gary Crawford admits that along with efficiencies, there will have to be talk of things like revenue tools.
“We have to put everything on the table,” Crawford explained. “It’s about reducing government but it’s also about looking at the revenue set. We have to do a combination of both of them.”
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