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Toronto taxes and user fees are going up in 2010
Homeowners will be hit with a four per cent tax increase under Toronto`s proposed 2010 operating budget unveiled this morning, while businesses will see their taxes rise 1.3%.
Mayor David Miller said there will be no sale of city assets to balance the books, but the proposed budget includes $13 million in user fee hikes and new fees and $172 million in internal savings.
Miller said the average Toronto home, with an assessed value of $407,374 now pays $2,334 in property taxes (excluding school taxes). The proposed increase would add $93.
Users of city recreation programs will bear the brunt of user fee hikes. The "most controversial" new fee, said budget committee head Coun. Shelley Carroll, is a one-time $50-per-family fee to sign up for recreation programs effective May 1. The registration fee won`t be levied on families already signed up, she said.
Also, people were allowed to call in one false fire alarm with no financial penalty. Now, they`ll be hit with the fee of $350 per dispatched truck that was previously levied only on repeat offenders. And Enbridge and other companies that dig into city roads will be hit with $20-per-square-metre fee to repair them.
City officials said the cost savings eliminate 260 jobs, including 110 that currently have staff in them. But hiring in other areas more than offsets the cuts, meaning the budget will actually add 170 jobs to the city`s payroll.
Read the full article here.
Homeowners will be hit with a four per cent tax increase under Toronto`s proposed 2010 operating budget unveiled this morning, while businesses will see their taxes rise 1.3%.
Mayor David Miller said there will be no sale of city assets to balance the books, but the proposed budget includes $13 million in user fee hikes and new fees and $172 million in internal savings.
Miller said the average Toronto home, with an assessed value of $407,374 now pays $2,334 in property taxes (excluding school taxes). The proposed increase would add $93.
Users of city recreation programs will bear the brunt of user fee hikes. The "most controversial" new fee, said budget committee head Coun. Shelley Carroll, is a one-time $50-per-family fee to sign up for recreation programs effective May 1. The registration fee won`t be levied on families already signed up, she said.
Also, people were allowed to call in one false fire alarm with no financial penalty. Now, they`ll be hit with the fee of $350 per dispatched truck that was previously levied only on repeat offenders. And Enbridge and other companies that dig into city roads will be hit with $20-per-square-metre fee to repair them.
City officials said the cost savings eliminate 260 jobs, including 110 that currently have staff in them. But hiring in other areas more than offsets the cuts, meaning the budget will actually add 170 jobs to the city`s payroll.
Read the full article here.