2013 City Budget

[thistleclub]

Council OKs $252m capital budget for roadwork, transit, Pan Am
(Hamilton Spectator, Emma reilly, Dec 12, 2012)

City councillors have approved a $252-million capital budget for 2013, up from $221 million this year. The biggest chunk — $102.8 million — will be spent on roads.

Other major expenses include $39.2 million for Pan Am, $26.5 million for transit, and $5.4 million for vehicle replacement.

However, equally telling are the items not being funded in next year’s budget. They include:

• Park development initiatives (including $30 million for Gage Park, $6 million for Gore Park, $10 million for Battlefield Park and $37 million for Confederation Park

• Police investigative building: $15 million

• West Harbour Recreation Master Plan: $75 million

• Light rail transit (LRT): amount undetermined

• Two-way street conversions: amount undetermined

The lack of funding for two-way street conversions and LRT funding garnered particular attention Tuesday. Hamilton Chamber of Commerce CEO David Adames attended the meeting to ask councillors to dedicate funding to LRT in the 2014 capital budget, arguing that it wasn’t too early to start thinking about next year’s expenses.

Councillor Chad Collins also asked for city staff to prepare a three- or five-year implementation plan for two-way street conversions — including those already identified by the city, along with any conversions that arise at the recommendation of a citizen task force recently struck by councillors Brian McHattie and Jason Farr.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

40% of the budget going towards roads - that sounds about right.

[thistleclub]

Putting those "telling" omissions in context, while it stepped up to cover six months of CSUMB, Council backed away from spending what would presumably be an additional $3.35m to bankroll a full year of temporary poverty relief, apparently because doing do "would have added about 1 per cent to residential tax rates, which works out to about $30 per household."

Leaving the TBD line items of LRT and two-way street conversions out of the tally, the other three items cited amount to an additional $173m in spending. If included, they would have meant a capital budget 68%+ larger than the one that was passed.

[CaptainKirk]

Originally Posted by pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce

40% of the budget going towards roads - that sounds about right.

Another reason to discourage suburban sprawl (aerotroplois) and encourage increased density ( LRT)

[NortheastWind]

Originally Posted by CaptainKirk

Another reason to discourage suburban sprawl (aerotroplois) and encourage increased density ( LRT)

Aerotropolis is intended to be employment lands that will support the cargo businesses at the airport, which will generate even more employment. Increased density as a result of LRT will be primarily residential. The increased employment opportunities will support the higher density.

[CaptainKirk]

Originally Posted by NortheastWind

Aerotropolis is intended to be employment lands that will support the cargo businesses at the airport, which will generate even more employment. Increased density as a result of LRT will be primarily residential. The increased employment opportunities will support the higher density.

The enormous cost for aerotroplis' infrastructure will far out weigh any gains in employment.

Infill, and densification and the resultant increased property values and tax bases brought on by LRT are proven in many other cities.

[bigguy1231]

Originally Posted by CaptainKirk

The enormous cost for aerotroplis' infrastructure will far out weigh any gains in employment.

Infill, and densification and the resultant increased property values and tax bases brought on by LRT are proven in many other cities.

The same argument being used against the aerotroplis can be used against the LRT. It will be a bottomless moneypit that will have to be subsidized by taxpayers for as long as it exists.

[SteelTown]

Hamilton homeowners facing average $68 tax increase
CBC News
Posted: Mar 21, 2013 11:47 AM ET

http://www.cbc.ca/hamilton/economy/s...-march-21.html

The burden on Hamilton taxpayers has been lifted a little more with a new draft budget for the city.

Staff have found savings that will reduce the budget increase to 1.9 per cent over last year, a $68 increase on the average household. The previous version of the budget called for a 2.5-per cent increase, or $75 more than last year for the owner of a $266,200 home.

The change reflects, among other savings, a smaller than expected Ontario Works caseload and winter control budget.

The year-end totals for 2012 are available now, and they weren't at the start of the budget process, city manager Chris Murray said.

“Because of that, we've been able to look at the books more closely and come to you with these further savings.”

Councillors deliberated the budget at a general issues committee meeting Thursday. A big item was the budget for Hamilton Entertainment and Convention Facilities Inc. (HECFI), which projects no savings for 2013.

This worried some councillors. HECFI's properties will be managed by new parties this year — Copps Coliseum and Hamilton Place by Global Spectrum/Live Nation, the Hamilton Convention Centre by Carmen's Inc. Both promised savings in their bids.

Both groups have said 2013 will be a transitional year. Councillors voted Jan. 31 to allow Carmen's to apply for $450,546 and Global Spectrum $110,000 to cover any losses this year.

Mike Zegarac, interim head of finance, will come back to the general issues committee the first week of April to elaborate on why there would be no savings.

“We asked the transition team if there were any potential savings,” Zegarac said. The team told him “there were no potential savings to incorporate in the 2013 budget.”

But Coun. Brian McHattie wanted to press the groups for some cost reductions, especially in light of HECFI staff being laid off.

“They have reduced staff to the detriment of those families,” he said. “It [the transition to private management] was done for the benefit of the taxpayer. If that's not the case, we need to seriously query what we've bought into.”

Budget deliberations are scheduled to continue on April 4, with final approval on April 10.