Laura Hull –
Over a series of town halls in January – in-person, over the phone and by video conference – Torontonians expressed their views on the city’s 2024 budget. The meetings followed some held last November, when Mayor Olivia Chow and the Budget Committee started budget consultations with online surveys and in-person meetings across the city.
the bridge attended two town halls, on January 16 and 22. At the first meeting, Ward 13 Councillor Chris Moise and Ward 10 Councillor Ausma Malik led a presentation on the budget and answered questions. The second featured more organization leaders than residents, but both had common themes.
Asked what was in store for Ward 13, Moise said that with more money going towards social services and helping unhoused people, the neighbourhood should see some problems resolved.
The biggest concern was the housing crisis. People were also concerned about safety and police. Residents asked if the budget would deal with increasing feelings of being unsafe, and if money going to build more shelters would help solve the problem. The Councillors said the city recognizes existing problems and that the money allocated for these issues will increase security.
Another major concern was lack of funding for Toronto’s art scene. In the November consultations, people suggested cutting arts funding to finance other areas.
But in January, people stressed the importance of arts and culture to bring life back to the city after the pandemic. Malik agreed with a resident that the city needs to maintain arts funding. “At the Economic Development Committee, we did demonstrate our support for arts and culture through the grants [to] the Toronto Arts Council.”
Some people supported the proposed hike in the property tax rate, while others were much more concerned. Could it be made progressive, based on property value, and weighting it with other taxes?
Residents also asked about increased funding for the TTC and making it more affordable.
One resident asked the city to allocate funds to make all TTC stops accessible. Another concern was the backlog on the state of good repair work needed across the city.
On January 22, comments once again focused on whether increasing taxes was the fair and right thing to do. One resident asked the city to seek new means of revenue instead of just hiking up taxes. A 6th grader asked the committee to increase the animal services budget.
Many union representatives and community organization leaders echoed residents’ concerns. Everyone – from residents, Toronto Police, paramedics, Toronto Arts Council, to the Daily Bread Food Bank – wants a safer, less expensive, and more accessible city.
