In an unanimous vote, city councillor's on the Mayor's Executive Committee agreed to push ahead with discussions about new taxes in Toronto, including the possibility of adding tolls to the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway.
The motion, if passed by City Council, will see the city ask the provincial government for regulatory changes that would allow it to set up a tolling system, as well as go ahead with a tax that would cover hotel rooms, as well as accomodations from services like Airbnb
Proposals for a vehicle registration tax, a tax on alcohol, a levy on parking, and a municipal income tax were scrapped.
The first formal debate at city hall surrounding these proposals started with a stern warning from Toronto's top bureaucrat.
City Manager Peter Wallace told councillors on the Mayor's city hall inner circle on Thursday that it is time for them to face up to how much it costs to make good on their promises.
He supports many of the 9 ways detailed in a city staffers' report to raise money to maintain and improve the city's roads, as well as fund new public transit projects.
"Staff will consistently work to achieve savings," Wallace says, "but we also need significant investment."
Wallace called the tax proposal "business-like ... fiscally conservative," and, "an entirely appropriate approach."
The city manager essentially told the meeting that if councillors are not brave enough to ask residents for more money, then they will have to vote to cut city services, instead.
Councillors like Joe Cressy, Mike Layton, Ana Bailao, and Janet Davis voiced support for many of the so-called 'revenue tools' being pitched by Mayor John Tory.
City Budget Committee Chair, councillor Gary Crawford, is also backing calls for the city to seek new ways to raise money.
"They need to be fair, they need to be affordable to the residents of this city, and they need make fiscal sense," he says.
Most councillors seemed to be at least willing to discuss the idea of new taxes and fees.
Deputy Mayor Denzil Minnan-Wong, whose ward is split by the DVP, told the meeting that many of his residents don't like the idea of being asked to pay to drive the Parkway.
He is asking that if the toll proposal is allowed to go ahead, that city hall consider an annual cap on the fees that could be paid by individual drivers.
York West councillor Giorgio Mammoliti wants city hall to put the brakes on any proposal for new taxes.
"In my community, there is going to be chaos," he says, "anybody north of the city -- if you think they're going to stop using their car, you're dreaming in technicolour."
He adds that tolls on the expressways would amount to an "attack on drivers."
City councillor Gord Perks says he believes the city should take the proposals a step further, and discuss implementing a municipal income tax.
The Executive Committee is typically the final stage of debate before a proposed policy or project goes to city council for a final vote.