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Contact: William F. Bell, Mayor, (905) 771-8800, ext. 3123
RICHMOND HILL ANNOUNCES IT WILL WITHHOLD GTA POOLING FUNDS
RICHMOND HILL - William F. Bell, the Mayor of the Town of Richmond Hill, announced today on behalf of Council and the citizens of Richmond Hill that the Town will withhold its contributions to the financial Pooling arrangement imposed on Greater Toronto Area municipalities.
At a special meeting on Monday, February 7, Richmond Hill Council passed a resolution stating that it will not pay its share of Pooling costs to the Region of York, which for Richmond Hill is estimated to be just over $15.6 million for 2005. Mayor Bell said, "We no longer intend to send our taxpayers money onwards without input or influence as to how it is spent. The situation we find ourselves in at present is akin to what led to the Boston Tea Party...it's taxation without representation and it must stop!" said Bell.
Since 1998, Richmond Hill, along with all other GTA municipalities, has been required by the Province of Ontario to provide funding to offset costs of providing social services within the City of Toronto. This is what is referred to as "Pooling" and, in Richmond Hill's case, the monies are funded through the Region of York's portion of the property tax bill.
Over the years, the nine area municipalities have sent more than half a billion dollars through the Region of York to the City of Toronto. "We also have the need for services right here in Richmond Hill and taking that money out of our community to service another is just not fair to our citizens," said the Mayor.
"As others have said before me, we need a better deal for cities," Bell said. "We have enough trouble in meeting the demands for services and infrastructure right here in Richmond Hill. This year and in the future municipalities will continue to face enormous financial pressures, resulting in higher tax bills across the province. The cost of everything continues to rise, but our means for raising revenues have not."
Council's decision was also made in part to support the City of Toronto's ongoing attempts to negotiate with other levels of government.
"Our actions today are not unlike the City of Toronto's decision with respect to funding its share of GO transit," said Bell. "Our resolution will be sent to all other GTA municipalities, asking for their support and requesting that they pass a similar motion." Bell added, "There is strength in numbers."
By this action, the Town hopes to attract greater attention to this issue and bring about change to the way social costs are funded and provide municipalities with greater autonomy and a more equitable way of dealing with service provision. |
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