New rules could lessen burden on taxpayers for future transit costs
Posted Aug 24, 2016 06:49:23 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The potential tax hike residents face for transit spending in Waterloo Region in the coming years could be lessened if the region brings in new rules governing development charges.
The price tag for transit spending is currently estimated at $161-million over the next ten years, with residents in the cities facing a possible 12.9 per cent tax hike.
However, the province changed the rules for calculating development charges allowing municipalities to also factor in such areas as future transit use.
Developers are on the hook for those charges to help pay for such things as new or upgraded roads and sewers.
Regional finance committee chair Sean Strickland tells the Record, “It’s a significant tool and shouldn’t be underestimated, and it’s a positive step to help pay for rapid transit plans.”
Councillor Tom Galloway agrees, telling the paper, “it has the potential to reduce the amount of money that we’re collecting by a significant amount.”
It’s not clear how such changes would impact local taxpayers.
Regional councillors could have a better idea when they begin the 2017 budget process.
