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Correspondence dated October 6, 2016 from
Association of Municipalities Ontario requesting support of resolution -
'What's Next Ontario?'
WHEREAS
recent polling, conducted on behalf of the Association of Municipalities of
Ontario indicates 76% of Ontarians are concerned or somewhat concerned
property taxes will not cover the cost of infrastructure while maintaining
municipal services, and 90% agree maintaining safe infrastructure is an
important priority for their communities;
AND
WHEREAS infrastructure and transit are identified by Ontarians as the biggest
problems facing their municipal government;
AND
WHEREAS a ten-year projection (2016-2025) of municipal expenditures against
inflationary property tax and user fee increases, shows there to be an
unfunded average annual need of $3.6 billion to fix local infrastructure and
provide for municipal operating needs;
AND
WHEREAS the $3.6 billion average annual need would equate to annual increases
of 4.6% (including inflation) to province-wide property tax revenue for the
next ten years;
AND
WHEREAS this gap calculation also presumes all existing and multi-year
planned federal and provincial transfers to municipal governments are
fulfilled;
AND
WHEREAS if future federal and provincial transfers are unfulfilled beyond
2015 levels, it would require annual province-wide property tax revenue
increases of up to 8.35% for ten years;
AND
WHEREAS Ontarians already pay the highest property taxes in the country;
AND
WHEREAS each municipal government in Ontario faces unique issues, the fiscal
health and needs are a challenge which unites all municipal governments,
regardless of size;
NOW
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that this Council supports the Association of
Municipalities of Ontario in its work to close the fiscal gap; so that all
municipalities can benefit from predictable and sustainable revenue, to
finance the pressing infrastructure and municipal service needs faced by all
municipal governments.
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