York Regional Council approves $1.6 billion 2012 Operating Plan

NEWMARKET - York Regional Council today approved a $1.6 billion operating budget as part of the 2012 Business Plan and Budget. Highlights include:

 

$288 million for Transportation Services, including:
• Maintaining a safe and efficient road network of more than 3,500 lane kilometres
• Delivering safe, reliable, accessible and convenient transit through approximately one million hours of transit service, more than 120 bus routes, a fleet of more than 400 vehicles and two Regionally-owned garages

 

$274 million for York Regional Police, including:
• Adding 34 additional sworn officers and 12 civilian staff

 

$145 million for Community and Health Services, including:
• Funding and administering approximately 6,000 social housing units, owned and managed by community housing providers and Housing York Inc.
• Operating two long-term care facilities; one in the City of Vaughan and the other in the Town of Newmarket
• Subsidizing child care spaces for 3,700 children and providing monthly financial assistance to more than 6,000 households
• Hiring 10 additional paramedics to staff two new ambulances and four new paramedics to staff four new rapid response units

 

$40 million for Waste Management, including:
• Managing over 360,000 tonnes of solid waste in 2012 with a goal of diverting 60 per cent of solid waste tonnage from landfill (representing more than 220,000 tonnes)
• Full year operations at the Elgin Mills Community Environmental Centre (CEC) in the Town of Richmond Hill
• Renovation of the Georgina Transfer Station to increase accessibility and  waste management options for residents

 

Further Operating Budget Highlights include:

 

$38 million for Capital Asset Replacement: to provide for future infrastructure replacement
$13 million for GTA Pooling: money collected by the Province of Ontario from York Region to help pay for Social Assistance and Social Housing programs in the City of Toronto
$12 million for debt reduction: to reduce reliance on debt financing of capital projects
$8.6 million for Fiscal Stabilization: to stabilize tax rates after the GTA pooling upload is phased out

 

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Media Contact:  Ken Turriff, Corporate Communications, York Region
   1-877-464-9675, ext. 1226 • Cell: 905-251-6415 • ken.turriff@york.ca