Ford to freeze property taxes next year

Toronto's new mayor, Rob Ford, is vowing to freeze property taxes next year despite saying during the election campaign that there was no way to avoid tax hikes.

"Toronto taxpayers expect the wasteful spending and the annual tax increases to come to an end," Ford said at a Wednesday afternoon meeting with the media after officially being sworn in as mayor earlier in the day.

Ford could did not guarantee a tax freeze during the election campaign, saying only that he would try to peg increases to the rate of inflation.

Last year, the city raised residential property taxes by 2.9 per cent, and non-residential property taxes by 1.0 per cent. The last time property taxes were frozen was in 2000, when Mel Lastman was mayor. The following year, however, residential property taxes went up five per cent.

"There will be no tax increases next year. There will be no major service cuts next year. We're going to keep the budget the exact same as this year," Ford said. 

Coun. Shelley Carroll, who oversaw the city's budget in the last session of council, told CBC News: "That's going to be a very tall order unless of course we're going to redefine what is service."

She conceded it is possible Ford could keep the budget at the same level for "perhaps one year."

But a significant impediment to Ford's plans, she said, are long-term labour costs — particularly for essential services like the police and fire departments, whose contracts come up for renewal next year. The wages of essential service workers are determined by arbitrators based on what workers in other municipalities have been awarded.

"If you're going to be drawing up a prudent budget you're going to have to factor into that wage increases … for the essential services," she said.

"They're not negotiated. They're arbitrated. And so that's going to be very expensive."

'Every email will be responded to'

Ford also said "customer-service excellence" will be his first priority over the next four years.

"Every phone call, every email will be responded to," said Ford. "All it takes is leadership."

He said his newly picked executive committee would appoint a task force to focus exclusively on customer service.

Ford held the news conference to highlight his priorities for the coming years.

Ford also said he will be putting an end to the city's Transit City plan, and would move to make the TTC an essential service right away, which would prohibit workers from going on strike.

Also among his other priorities:

• Making government more accountable and transparent.
• Reducing the size and cost of government.
• Abolishing the $60 vehicle registration tax by Jan. 1.