Week of January 17th
Toronto unveils its 2021 pandemic budget and the latest on COVID-19 in Davisville
Greetings neighbour! You’ll notice this newsletter is coming to you mid-week. I’ve been experimenting with hitting send on different days and at different times to determine what gets read most…and to see what is easiest for me to put together.
If you have a moment, let me know what you like best at the short survey here. Also, feel free to share other thoughts on topics you’d like to see me cover in the coming weeks.
And with that, on to the news!
Toronto releases its annual budget - here’s what to watch
Last Thursday, the City of Toronto kicked-off its annual, month-long budget process. (You can find the shiny summary powerpoint here.) Over the coming weeks, councillors (and the public too!) will debate and discuss the financial details behind the services the City provides, the long-term investments it makes, and the fees and taxes it uses to support them. It is every nerdy, city-hall watcher’s favourite time of year.
Over the years, this discussion has become much richer, as community groups have started to develop more resources to help get the general public involved (see here for a great list from Social Planning Toronto) and explore it from different angles like climate, transit, gender, and more.
Despite the virtual nature of this year’s debate, the discussion will be equally spirited. For those of us here in Davisville, there are a few topics worth watching:
Property Taxes - no spoilers here: they’re going up! It’s just not by a lot. The current plan is for an increase of ~2.2% (or $70 on average), with the majority of that going to long-term investments in transit and housing. There will be some pushback on this increase - particularly after water and hydro costs went up in the fall (though less than planned) - but the longer debate will (probably?) be whether given the City’s underinvestment and financial frailty they should go up more. I won’t wade too deeply into that argument here, but personally I remain swayed by it - not least because Toronto continues to have one of the lowest tax rates in the province.
City Services - City Hall has been stating for months its intent to “build back better” after COVID-19. Based on the budget though, the plan should probably be renamed to “build back kinda the same”. Outside of the areas directly impacted by COVID-19 - such as public health, senior care, and the shelter system - and some funding on topics like diversity & inclusion, the budget’s focus is mostly on maintaining existing pre-pandemic service levels (i.e., # of recreation programs, or hours of operation for facilities) rather than investing to expand them to address capacity issues that predate the pandemic. Expect many of the advocacy groups to push councillors and staff on this point.
Parks & Recreation - the capital budget for the City’s Parks division includes several large upcoming commitments relevant to Davisville; even if they aren’t new, each is inching closer to reality. For example, the Eglinton Park makeover (described here and a progress update here) has nearly $10 million set aside between now and 2028. The Davisville Aquatic Centre has nearly $24 million set aside through 2024 - though funds were shifted slightly to reflect delays in the construction of the nearby school. The only new park funding as best I could tell was an additional $1 million for “Midtown (Yonge-Eglinton) Park Improvements” through 2024 - though, I must admit that I have no idea what this. Perhaps its related to the Canada Square public realm but I’m not sure. Either way, in a public space starved midtown, we’ll take it!
Police Budget - a lot of time has been spent this past year focused on police funding. And rightly so: in a cash starved City, it accounts for almost 10% of the entire operating budget. But the proposed budget for 2021 is effectively flat compared to 2020 - which, while an improvement over previous year’s increases, is a far cry from the nearly 10% (or more) increases called for by community advocates. Expect this debate to be divisive: with the police pointing to increasing crime rates (which my data shows is mostly true here in midtown) while advocates for reform pointing to better, cheaper, safer models for at least the portion of calls related to mental health (which my read also tells me is true). Given the debates we have had around safety in midtown this year, and the nearly $40 million our local 53 Division has earmarked from 2023 to 2026 for a modernized facility, I expect the results of the discussion to reverberate plenty here in midtown.
If you spotted something else, shoot me a note at will@davisvilledigest.ca.
Regardless of how the important debates above play out, ultimately it will all be for not if one key question is not addressed: will the Provincial and Federal governments continue to step in to fund Toronto’s budgetary shortfall? Specifically, while they have already committed around $740 million, the City says they will need an additional $850 million. Otherwise, it will need to divert a huge portion of its capital spending - an area where the City already spends too little - to fund the deficit.
If I were a betting man (I am not), I would guess the other levels of government will ultimately jump in because they know they can’t afford not to. Assuming they think similarly, I would echo the Star’s editorial board by saying: quit the posturing and just get on with it already.
If you’re keen to get involved in this year’s budget, the Social Planning TO link is still probably your best resource. If you’re a keener like me, you can also sign-up to speak at an upcoming Council meeting. If a smaller setting is your thing, our Councillor Josh Matlow will be having a town hall meeting on all things budget-related next month.
COVID-19 in Davisville
It took about a week but, like the rest of the City, Davisville is now seeing its own surge in COVID-19 cases post holidays. The numbers are still relatively small for a neighbourhood of almost 30,000 residents, but they’re now on-par with the surge seen in the first wave when there were large outbreaks at local care homes. Not great!
In other COVID-19 related news, last week City staff provided a bit more information on their recent cases. The majority of the cases were from asymptomatic carriers identified through the testing of all residents - a great catch, but proof of just how stealthy the disease can be. Many of those cases were also apparently couples, making them slightly easier to trace and manage. Overall, the comments from staff felt reassuring, given how dangerous outbreaks in shelters can be.
Finally, Davisville had the (dis)honour of being one of the communities called out after the province-wide enforcement blitz of the stay-at-home order this past weekend. The culprit? An “alleged illegal gaming house in the Yonge Street and Davisville area” that led to more than 25 people being charged.
There are a lot of great puns I could use for this story, but I’ll pass this time and simply say: don’t be an ass like these folks. As much as you can, just stay home.
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