Passing the buck

If Bob Sheherd and the others are confused, think how us voters feel. We're the one's that have to come up with the 'right' vote. *sigh* This article is newdurahamregion.com.

Passing the buck
Three of four Durham Riding parties push for Province to take back social costs
Fri Sep 28, 2007
By Chris Hall

NORTH DURHAM -- The math just doesn't add up in Bob Shepherd's books.

Each time the Uxbridge mayor peruses the list of demands the Province places on his municipality, and others across North Durham and the rest of Ontario, he just shakes his head.

There's always more for Ontario's municipalities to do, but there's hardly ever any funding to come with those additional responsibilities.

Take, for instance, last year's new pit bull regulations introduced by the Province, the Uxbridge mayor offers. Sure, there's the public safety factor associated with the new bill, but who is going to fork over the dollars needed for such laws?

"Who is going to pay for it? The municipalities," Mayor Shepherd answers. "If we have to hire additional people (to carry out the new regulations)... then it's not fair. To me, that's just irresponsible.

"How can (the Province) provide us with a new mandate, and not give us the means to finance it? It's almost silly, but that's what they do," he says.

The downloading of services from the Province to the bottom of the government hierarchy, perhaps made best known in the mid-1990s by former premier Mike Harris and his Tory government, can probably best be described as passing the buck.

But, with the Oct. 10 provincial election rapidly approaching, most of the players in the upcoming vote are scrambling to assure municipal leaders, and those who pony up the funds each year, that their party, if elected, will ease the burden.

In the eyes of the NDP party, says Durham Riding candidate Catherine Robinson, the issue of uploading "is a very important" one and she pledges that the 'Green and Orange' believe in "relieving the property taxpayers the burden of paying for services that the Province mandated."

Those include such costs as social services and social housing.

If swept into power at Queen's Park after next month's vote, explains Ms. Robinson, the NDP would first impose a two-year freeze on public transit costs, such as the GO Train, for those "who are constantly fed up with higher and higher ticket prices."

Then, at the start of 2008, the NDP would reassume half of the cost of such services, which would relieve Durham Region of about $14 million in costs annually.

"That's a significant amount," says Ms. Robinson.

Other goals of the NDP would be to remove the cost of court security from the shoulders of municipalities, providing Durham with a savings of $4 million each year, according to the NDP hopeful.

Cost-sharing and other funding agreements, she continued, that has "allowed (Ontario Premier) Dalton McGuinty to short-change municipalities... would no longer happen." That, says Ms. Robinson, would save the Region up to $12 million each year.

With all these services lifted off the municipalities, there would be plenty of cash to cover such costs as garbage, recycling and roads, she says.

"The municipalities, since downloading, have really been struggling to maintain Provincially-mandated programs because funding (hasn't arrived with any of the demands). As a result of that, property taxes have increased," says Ms. Robinson.

Echoing the importance of the downloading issue is John O'Toole, the incumbent Durham MPP.

"It is most important to recognize that social programs belong to the Province," says the Tory candidate.

He quickly points out that municipalities have "always" played some sort of role in Provincial programs, such as their delivery, but stresses that he "believe(s) social programs, broadly... belong as a Provincial responsibility."
But sending the costs of such social programs back up to the Province is not as easy as it sounds, he warns. If one program is removed from the municipalities' to-pay-for list, nothing is gained if the lower-tier governments tack on another expense.

"If the municipality fills that tax (room), then nothing's been achieved for the homeowner," says Mr. O'Toole. "If the goal is to reduce taxes or stabilize the (municipality's costs), then they can't fill that tax room without restrictions."

He also points out "municipalities are the beneficiaries of assessment increases, they blame the Province on increases... (but) if assessments go up 10 per cent, their revenues go up 10 per cent."

However, in an effort to help municipalities, the Progressive Conservatives have pledged to provide the lower-tier governments with an additional $1.5 billion for items such as roads and bridges. Currently, explains Mr. O'Toole, the Province pockets about $3 billion in revenues through gas and fuel taxes, sharing roughly half of that with municipalities to cover the costs of transit and public transportation. If elected, the Tories would double that.

Mr. O'Toole also reasons that social program costs have to be removed from the lower levels because "social programs are not sustainable in a diminished economy if they're funded locally because revenues would be affected at a time when the services are needed."

The ruling Liberals, offers Durham Grit hopeful Betty Somerville, realize that "there is no reason cities should be supporting health-related costs, such as the land ambulance service, drug benefits and disability support."

In a prepared statement (Ms. Somerville could not be reached for comment, but provided a written response), she explains that her party has already begun to upload approximately 75 per cent of those costs and pledges to complete the uploading in the upcoming term.

The Liberals, she says, "understand the importance of fairness when it comes to costs, especially when it comes to the smaller and rural communities. Without the larger population base but often the same amount of land to take care (of), the costs are disproportionate to that of major urban centres. We recognize that and that is why we also have in place a plan specifically for aiding our small and rural communities."

In her statement, Ms. Somerville notes that, on top of the gas-tax sharing program and special support for rural schools and hospitals, the Grits are also looking to invest in restoring many of the heritage sites that reside in rural communities, provide extra funding for restoring roads and bridges and make investments in much-needed infrastructure.

"After eight years of having the Conservatives dump provincial costs on the cities, the Liberals recognize that it is now time to take ownership of those costs once again," says Ms. Somerville in her statement. "I look forward to seeing the advancements that small and rural communities will make in partnership with the Liberals. Too many communities, both urban and not, have had to increase municipal taxes by huge amounts to deal with the pressures of paying for provincial responsibilities. That has been recognized and it is a major priority for the party and myself to see that trend reversed."

Shrugging off the call for the Province to take back some of the costs, however, is the Green Party.

"Those who think property taxes are bad and income and business taxes are good have it backwards," offers Durham Green Party candidate June Davies in a prepared statement.

"In any case, there is only one taxpayer (and) uploading social services taxes will not change anything since the same Ontarians will... still be paying the same amount of tax."

She continues to explain that "removing social services and education from the property tax (which is about 75 per cent land value tax) will increase the wealth gap in Ontario, increasing wealth disparity. It will also increase sprawl since it will undervalue land even more than it already is. Undervaluing land is what we have sprawl now instead of walkable communities.

"Uploading will depress our economic vitality, cause a jump in housing (land) prices, increase pressure to sprawl, increase wealth gap and increase the underground economy. Higher prices for properties means more money servicing mortgages will go to banks, whereas higher carrying costs for holding property (property taxes) means a higher revenue stream to municipalities."

Whatever happens after next month's election, Scugog Mayor Marilyn Pearce stresses that it's important landowners realize it's the cost of provincial downloading, and not frivolous spending by the municipality, that is driving taxes up.

"I think for the taxpayers, who are extremely concerned about market value assessment and upcoming reassessments and that fact that property taxes continue to rise as significantly as they have, it's important they realize that it's because of downloading that their taxes are going up," she says.

"There's no fairness in the system and, as a result, taxes continue to rise. We just can't get to the (local) projects that need to get done because we're paying for Provincially-mandated social programs."

The Scugog mayor hopes that something will come out of a Provincial report on the downloading issue that's slated to be released in February.