Budget Committee Meeting - November 9, 2015

Minutes of the Previous Meeting - Meeting No. 4 - Tuesday, September 15, 2015

1. Presentation: 2016 TTC and Wheel-Trans Operating Budgets (For Action)
   • Decision: 2016 TTC and Wheel-Trans Operating Budgets
2. Presentation: 2016-2025 TTC Capital Budget (For Action)
   • Decision: Presentation: 2016-2025 TTC Capital Budget
3. Proposed Service Improvements for the 2016 Operating Budget (For Action)
   • Decision: Proposed Service Improvements for the 2016 Operating Budget
4. Earlier Subway Service on Sunday Mornings (For Action)
   • Correspondence- submitted by Mayor Tory & Chair Josh Chair
   • Decision: Earlier Subway Service on Sunday Mornings
5. Lease for Interim Bus Storage and Maintenance Facility (This report with confidential attachment contains information that is subject to land acquisition privilege) (For Action)
   • Decision: Lease for Interim Bus Storage and Maintenance Facility
6. Park Lawn Streetcar Loop (For Action)
   • Decision: Park Lawn Streetcar Loop
7. TO Prosperity - Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy (For Action)
   • Correspondence- Petition- Senior Fare Reduction
   • Decision:TO Prosperity - Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy

R.  Byers, J. Campbell, S. Carroll, J. Colle, J. Mihevc (Members), A. Byford (Chief Executive Officer), C. Upfold (Deputy CEO & Chief Customer Officer), G. Shortt (Chief Operating Officer), R. Leary (Chief Service Officer), G. Piemontese (Chief People Officer), S. Reed Tanaka (Chief Capital Officer), V. Rodo (Chief Financial & Administration Officer),  S. Sperling (for Executive Director - Corporate Communications), G. Shortt (Chief Operating Officer), J. Taylor (Chief of Staff),  M. Palmer (Deputy Operations Officer), M. Roche (Head of Finance & Treasurer), M. Stambler (Head of Strategy & Service Planning), J. Fraser (Head – Capital Programming), P. Buttigieg (Director – Budgets, Costing & Financial Reporting), J. Imbrogno (Director – Capital Accounting), V. Cosentino (Director – Statistics, Finance Department), D. McDonald (Co-ordinator – Corporate Secretariat Services), A. Wideman and M. Balanco (Commission Services) were present.   

K. Rowe (Chair’s Office), S. Teper (Commissioner Carroll’s Office), and Daniela Magisano (Mayor’s Office) were also present. 

J. Colle was in the Chairsent.

Nil

Commissioner Carroll moved that the Budget Committee approve the minutes from Meeting No. 4 held on Tuesday, September 15, 2015.   

The motion by Commissioner Carroll carried.

a) Item #1 2016 TTC and Wheel-Trans Operating Budgets 

Michael Rosenberg 

Bob Brent (brief submitted) 

Yasmin Rajabi, Vice-President, External for the Scarborough Campus Student Union 

Brenda Thompson, TTCriders 

The Board received the deputations for information. 
(See Item 1 for minute). 

b) Item #7 Poverty Reduction Strategy 

Michael Rosenberg 

John Deacon (petition submitted) 

The Board received the deputations along with the petition sponsored by the Regent Park Social Action Group. 
(See Item 7 for minute).

1. 2016 TTC and Wheel-Trans Operating Budgets 
 
Vincent Rodo, Chief Financial & Administration Officer, provided a PowerPoint presentation on this item. 
 
The Budget Committee received the presentation for information and took the following action: 
 
The Committee approved recommendation #1 in the staff report as follows: 
 
(1)  endorse the $42 million in expenditure reductions, brining the current 2016 TTC operating budget pressure to $53 million as discussed in this report and the accompanying presentation.

Recommendation #2 requested that the Committee recommend a fare increase scenario.  
 
Chair Colle moved the following motion: 
 
That the TTC Budget Committee recommend the TTC Board approve a freeze for Metropass rates for 2016. 
 
A recorded vote was requested for this motion.  
 
In favour: R. Byers, S. Carroll, J. Colle, J. Mihevc. Opposed: J. Campbell 
 
The motion carried on a vote of four to one. 
 
Recommendation #3 requested the Committee discuss and recommend any of the additional 2016 service improvement initiatives (see also report #3 and #4) 
 
Chair Colle moved the following motion: 
 
That the TTC Budget Committee recommend the TTC Board approve: 
 
i) implementation of the streetcar service reliability initiatives; 
ii) endorse the implementation of earlier Sunday subway service for 2016; and  
iii) approve the implementation of earlier service on connecting bus and streetcar routes.  
 
The motion by Chair Colle carried. 
 
Commissioner Mihevc moved the following motion: 
 
That the TTC Budget Committee recommend the TTC Board approve: 
 
i) implementation of the bus  service reliability; and 
ii) new and enhanced express bus service 
 
The motion by Commissioner Mihevc carried. 
 
The Committee endorsed recommendation #4 and 5 in the staff report as follows: 
 
(4)  approve the 2016 Wheel-Trans Operating Budget as discussed in this report and the accompanying presentation; and 
 
(5)  approve forwarding the report to the TTC Board for consideration at its November 23, 3015 meeting. 
 
In addition, the Committee also moved the following ancilliary motions: 
 
Motion by Chair Colle: 
 
1. That the TTC Budget Committee request the TTC and City Manager report back to the Board in Q2 2016 on setting a new per rider subsidy formula to index the City's subsidy to the TTC's ridership;  
 
2. That the TTC request the Province to:  
. increase transit funding to the City of Toronto and the TTC so the per ride subsidy for the TTC is $1.00 in 2017;

. increase the subsidy amount thereafter to get to a subsidy level of $1.30 per ride for the TTC with the Province and City equally sharing costs; and

. address the added operating cost pressures on the TTC that the opening of new lines places, and develop a formula to attach additional operating funds to expansion projects.

Eg.

 

	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Per ride subsidy	$0.89	$0.89	$1.00	$1.10	$1.20	$1.30
City	100%	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%
Province	0%	10%	20%	30%	40%	50%

 

 3. That the TTC request that the City of Toronto direct any Gas Tax top-up funding from the federal government to the TTC; and 
 
4. That the TTC Budget Committee request TTC staff report back to the TTC Budget Committee with a list of SOGR projects to be considered for submission to the federal government's new infrastructure funding programs. 
  
The motion by Chair Colle carried. 
 
Motion by Commissioner Mihevc: 
 
Staff are requested to: 
 
Request the Province through Metrolinx to use the 2 billion savings from the Eglinton Crosstown project to: 
 
a) Subsidize 53 million required to avoid a fare increase

b) Fund SOGR projects currently unfunded

c) Contribute to TTC expansion projects

And report back through the TTC and the City’s budget process. 
 
The motion by Commissioner Mihevc carried. 
 
Motion by Commissioner Carroll: 
 
Staff are requested to: 
 
1.  Report to the Board on the cost to the rider of increasing the Adult Metropass only to achieve an equity of trip multiples with Student/ Senior Metropasses; and 
 
2.   Report to the Board on a multi-year outlook on workforce changes that can be expected based on Ridership Growth, System Expansion, Vehicle and Mode Changes. Such a report to include an explanation of how workforce changes are adjusted in-year based on actuals.  
 
The motion by Commissioner Carroll carried. 
 
Chair Colle moved adoption of the Report #1, as amended. 
The motion by Chair Colle carried. 
 
2. 2016-2025 TTC Capital Budget       
 
Vincent Rodo, Chief Financial & Administration Officer, provided a PowerPoint presentation on this item. 
 
The Budget Committee:  
 
1. Approved the 2016-2025 TTC Capital Budget (including the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension and Scarborough Subway Extension) as summarized in Appendix A of the report; noting that there are almost $2.8 billion of Unfunded Projects; and. 
 
2. Approved forwarding the 2016-2025 TTC Capital Budget Report to the Board for approval. 
 
 
3. Proposed Service Improvements for the 2016 Operating Budget 
 
Chair Colle moved the following motion: (see also Report #1) 
 
That the TTC Budget Committee recommend the TTC Board approve the implementation of the streetcar service reliability initiative.  
 
The motion by the Chair carried 
 
Commissioner Mihevc moved the following motion: 
 
That the TTC Budget Committee recommend the TTC Board approve: 
 
i) implementation of the Bus  service reliability; and 
ii) new and enhanced express bus service 
 
The motion by Commissioner Mihevc carried. 
 
The Budget Committee adopted the item as amended. 
 
4. Earlier Subway Service on Sunday Mornings 
 
Chair Colle moved the following motion: (see also Report #1) 
 
That the TTC Budget Committee recommend the TTC Board endorse the implementation of earlier Sunday subway service for 2016 and approve the implementation of earlier service on connecting bus and streetcar routes.  
 
The Budget Committee adopted the item as amended.  
 
(Correspondence on this item was received from His Worship Mayor Tory and TTC Chair Josh Colle).    
5. Lease of Interim Bus Storage and Maintenance Facility 
 
The Budget Committee: 
 
1.  Adopted the confidential recommendations contained in the confidential attachment to the report; and 
 
2. Authorized the public release of the confidential information contained in this report once a lease has been executed.

6. Park Lawn Streetcar Loop 
 
Chair Colle moved the following motion: 
 
That the staff report be amended to say: 
 
That a decision on removing the Park Lawn Streetcar Loop from the TTC’s Capital Budget be deferred until the City reports back on the reset Waterfront transit.  
 
The Budget Committed adopted the item as amended and approved forwarding this report to the TTC Board for further forwarding to the City Clerk in response to City Council’s request from its meeting on March 10-11, 2015, to the City Planning and Transportation Services Departments, and to Metrolinx.  
 
7. TO Propsperity – Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy  
 
The Budget Committee received the report as submitted. 
 
The meeting adjourned at 5:20 p.m.