(02-11-2015, 12:32 PM)nms Wrote: I think the Region missed a huge opportunity last year when they agreed that the Townships did not have to pay for the LRT. If instead, every property, regardless of location, saw their taxes raised specifically to pay for transit improvements, it would have made things easier in the long-term for transit planning. For instance, Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge's "Transit Levy" could have gone towards supporting the LRT and LRT-related transit improvements like increased feeder line service. The Township's "Transit Levy" portion could have gone towards inter-town or Town-City transit. Yes, the majority of the funding would still go towards the LRT, but the Region could implement simultaneous Township transit improvements as well.
I suspect that the Regional Council needed this exempt the townships from ION/LRT because of two reasons:
a) the precedent was there, GRT is area rated (they are exempt)
b) they needed the votes: Cambridge Mayor Craig was voting against it. If the township reps on the Council voted against it, it might not have been passed
http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/resour...ok_pdf.pdf
Page 164/267 page PDF
Confirmed, GRT is area rated. Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo households will pay $235 for base GRT service, Woolwich households pays $39 for Elmira bus service, no GRT service or levy for the other Townships.
RTMP reserve fund (how the Region will fund some of its portion of ION capital costs, I think) is levied on KW and Cambridge only, $114 budgeted per household in 2015.