Council approves more transit funding, shoots down pitch to move $8M from police to homeless support

A push to divert $8 million toward homelessness programs from the London Police Service's $672 million budget request failed Thursday as councillors struggle to hold down a property tax increase for 2024 that's now edging close to nine per cent. 

The budget meeting began with a motion by Coun. Skylar Franke to continue four different programs over the four years of the budget that are aimed at preventing homelessness.

They include $1.6 million to help where hoarding has been identified as a problem plus a housing stability bank costing $2.8 million. The money would also cover supports for housing providers ($1.6 million) and case management of housing cases ($1.8 million).

Franke said the money will help about 3,900 people. 

"Constituents are telling me they don't want us allocating the bulk of their tax dollars to the police budget," she said. "They believe, like I do, that the better bang for the buck is to address root cause issues instead of emergency responses." 

Franke also pushed back on suggestions that London isn't safe. A letter sent to councillors Wednesday by Police Chief Thai Truong said London is now the third most dangerous city among the largest 12 cities in Ontario. 

"That's fear-based," said Franke. "The emails I'm getting is that people want us to solve homelessness." 

Franke's motion to fund the programs by carving $8 million out of the police budget ask failed by a 3-12 vote. Coucillors Anna Hopkins and David Ferreira voted with Franke.

When the motion came to fund the programs out of the city's operating budget, which would add to the tax increase, the motions also failed. 

Deputy Police Chief Trish McIntyre appeared at the meeting via video call and said any reduction of the budget ask would reduce the number of new officers, which is currently set and 97 and she said are badly needed. 

"We did not table superfluous things," she said. "Any cut to the budget would compromise our ability to ensure adequate and effective policing services in our city," she said. 

McIntyre said under staffing has led to "skyrocketing" overtime costs in the force.

Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis said he was reluctant to add to the tax burden by funding programs that were created by the province. He said there's a limit to how much of an increase property owners and renters can sustain.

"Each time we push up the tax increase, we are pushing another London resident to get in line for the housing stability bank," he said. 

Lewis also pointed to low rates for Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program as a major factor in London's challenges with homelessness and housing.

"If people had a higher shelter allowance, they wouldn't have to rely on the housing stability bank," he said. 

More money for transit

A move to get more support for London Transit service managed to get through by a tight 8-7 vote. The move will cost $18 million over the next four years while adding 18,000 service hours, increasing bus service on busy routes.

Earlier in the budget process councillors voted down London Transit's original request for more service hours. 

"The service level is not adequate," said Coun. Sam Trosow, who said residents in his north London ward are regularly complaining about buses that are often too full to pick up new passengers during busy times. 

"If we cannot allow this very reasonable service upgrade, we are turning our backs on everything we purport to be saying about our desire as a city to get people out of our cars," he said. 

However Coun. Paul Van Meerbergen didn't support the money, describing the LTC as a "secondary transportation service." 

"People want their individuality with their own vehicles," he said. 

Van Meerbergen said his main concern is the property tax increase, currently on pace to average 7.5 per cent over the next four years. 

 A motion to add another $330,000 in funding to the library in 2024 passed by a 9-6 vote. 

Taken together, the adjustments voted on Thursday put the city on pace for the following tax increases over the next four years: 

• 2024: 8.7 per cent.
• 2025: 8.8 per cent.
• 2026: 5.8 per cent.
• 2027: 6.8 per cent.

For a London home with an assed value of $350,000 (about half the market value) that works out to a cost of about $350 more in each of the next four years. 

Londoners can have their say at a budget participation meeting at City Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 27. Council can still make amendments and changes before the budget gets final approval in March.