Never a dull moment

I think we all hoped for a more elegant path to the world stage than the alleged video of our alleged mayor doing alleged unsavory things, so with Ford’s antics taking up airtime on every station from here to California (if you haven’t seen The Daily Show’s version of events, go to Youtube and check it out), it’s nice to see Toronto’s got a few other things going on.

On the downside, the Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) and the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) issued a release condemning Metrolinx’s Big Move investment strategy for “burdening new home buyers and new employers with additional charges.”

The proposed revenue tools released last week include a 1% addition to the HST and an increase to development charges the associations say will “erode affordability” of new homes and employment centres in the GTA.

“This Investment Strategy adds a host of new fees and charges that will end up making transit-oriented communities less affordable," says Joe Vaccaro, COO of OHBA. “For example, for a new condo buyer in Markham, the Metrolinx Investment Strategy could add up to $8,000 in charges - a cost that is disproportionate to the $477 being projected by Metrolinx.”

“New home buyers and new businesses are already doing their fair share,” says Bryan Tuckey, President and CEO of BILD. “We estimate new home buyers and new businesses paid more than $1 billion in Development Charges to municipalities in 2012 alone for the construction of growth-related infrastructure in the GTA.”

It does seem counter-intuitive to create a growth plan that centres on transit-oriented communities, and then discourage buying homes in them. You know what might have been a good revenue producer? A casino. Too bad no one ever thought of that.

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On the upside, although the Mayor may Ford-up everything he touches these days, with higher land transfer taxes, unfilled government seats, and some under-spending by the TTC, he’s managed to finish 2012 with a $248-million surplus.

Along with cutting the size of government (refrain from inserting punch line — too easy) and its costs, Ford has made eliminating the land transfer tax a priority, and says he would like to cut it by 10% next year. The city collected $344.5 million in land transfer taxes last year, about 20% more than forecast. The city was also 2,623 jobs short of the workforce approved by council. Fuel savings and revenue from increased ridership at the TTC resulted in a $41 million surplus there, while water and solid-waste services reported a $63 million surplus over expectations.

This week’s report said also that fire services, economic development, engineering and construction were among the areas whose spending overshot their budgets. Parking tag enforcement exceeded its budget with 15 unapproved hires, but also generated about 17% more revenue than planned, with a $14 million surplus. Toronto Parking Authority income was also up $6.6 million over forecasts.

The council intends to put 75% of the surplus to work funding capital projects and put the rest in reserves. Hey, I hear Metrolinx could use the dough.

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Kudos to Rogers this week for offering broadband Internet for $9.99 a month to youths in social housing in Toronto. The move is part of a pilot project. “It's unfathomable that Canadians are living without internet access today because they simply cannot afford it," said Rob Bruce, president of Rogers Communications in a statement. “With Connected for Success, we've taken the first step to connect youth and we urge our competitors, our partners and communities to work with us to bridge Canada's digital divide.”

It might sound like a small thing, but lacking reliable internet access these days can really affect options for a young person trying to study, network, market a small business, or anything else that requires a competitive edge to succeed. According to Statistics Canada’s 2010 Canadian Internet Use Survey as reported by CBC, 46% of households earning $30,000 a year or less, comprising 46% of households and making up our lowest income quarter, had no internet access. The highest income quarter, those earning $87,000 or more, boasted 97% internet access.

Toronto Community Housing will decide whether each young applicant qualifies for the program based on criteria used to determine whether they qualify for other subsidies. Rogers said it was in talks with social housing providers in other markets were it offers internet services.

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A few months ago, we wrote about an Ontario couple who were selling their home by raffle, after it failed to sell by more traditional means. This week, we heard about Touchstone on Lake Muskoka, a fractional-ownership resort, taking another non-traditional tack — they’re auctioning off their remaining vacation homes online. Reserve bids were opened as low as 15% of the developer’s price. The auction of 75 fractions is held in three rounds; the first round sold out, the second round opens this week, and the last round will be available at the end of the July. Using real estate auctioneers Gordon’s Estate Services through the website TouchstoneAuction.com, the developer said they opted for an online auction to eliminate the pressure of an in-person auction experience. Amazing what you can now buy from the comfort of your laptop. With everything that has changed in the world of real estate development in the last few years — amenities, greener materials and processes, the savvy of online-educated consumers — the sales process itself has stayed fairly static. I’ll be interested to see what comes next.