Regional Council approves 2004 Business Plan and Budget

York Region Service Highlights

York Region Budget Enhancements: 2004

NEWMARKET – York Regional Council today approved its $1.7 billion 2004 Business Plan and Budget that includes enhanced services to the public in the areas of York Regional Police, York Region Transit, regional roads and infrastructure, social services and public health.

The Region will continue to offer many services to its residents in 2004, including:

York Regional Police Services

Deploy 1,095 police officers and 335 civilians support staff

Perform 10,000 hours of foot patrol

Perform 7,500 hours of radar traffic enforcement

Regional Roads

Maintain 3,274 kilometres of regional road lanes

Maintain 669 signalized intersections

Manage 2,100 hectares of forest

Manage 22 forest properties and 32 recreational trails

York Regional Transit

Transport 12.4 million total riders

Operate 63 routes, including TTC contracted services

Maintain a current fleet of 232 conventional buses and 19 specialized buses

Maintain 3,500 bus stops and 700 shelters

Water and Wastewater

Treat and distribute 117.9 million megalitres of water

Collect and treat 115.5 million megalitres of wastewaer

Solid Waste Management

Manage 294,000 total tonnes of waste

Divert 87,000 tonnes of waste from landfills

Health Services

Respond to more than 90,000 Emergency Medical Services calls

Provides 232 Long-Term Care facility beds

Respond to more than 70,000 Health Connection calls

Perform over 13,500 food safety inspections

Community Services & Housing

4,300 households per month receive financial assistance

Administer 6,214 social housing units

Provide 31,000 nights of emergency shelter

Provide over 320 Domiciliary care beds

NEWMARKET – York Regional Council today approved its $1.7 billion 2004 Business Plan and Budget that includes numerous service enhancements.  Outlined below are some of the highlights of those enhancements:

York Regional Police Services

• Hire 110 new sworn officers

• Hire 35 new civilian support staff

• Increase hours of foot patrol, bicycle patrol and radar traffic enforcement

York Region Transit (YRT)

• 35 new conventional buses for York Region Transit

• 5 new buses for Mobility Plus specialized transit

• Provide 62,000 additional YRT revenue vehicle service hours

Water and Wastewater

• 35 kilometres of new watermains

• Additional wastewater capacity

• Additional water storage and supply capacity

• High Street pumping station upgrade in Sutton

• Humber forecemain to Peel – 11 kilometres

Regional Roads

• Maintain 103 additional lane kilometres of roads

• Provide an additional $2 million for resurfacing improvement to over 3,100 lane kilometres of paved regional roads

• 46 new signalized intersections

• Increased investment to accelerate roads construction

Solid Waste Management

• Manage approximately 11,000 additional tonnes of solid waste

• Construction of a new Household Hazardous Waste and Public Drop-Off Depot

• Commence Source Separated Organics processing

Community Services and Housing

• Centralize Social Housing waitlist

Health Services

• Deploy two new ambulances and 12 new paramedics to provide 26,000 hours of additional service at peak periods of call activity

• Open four new EMS stations in King City, East Gwillimbury, Markham and Richmond Hill

• Support the full-year operation of 32 new long-term care beds at the Newmarket Health Centre

• Provide additional Public Health resources for health promotion, infectious disease prevention, food safety and health screening