That with respect to Report C2024-1097, the following amendments by adopted: That Recommendation 1.a be amended by inserting the following sub-bullet under Recommendation 1.a: Direct Administration to increase $750,000 from the Fiscal Stability Reserve to Community Strategies for one-time operating funding for 2025 and 2026 to Family and Community Support Services to support additional applications cut-off due to demand in excess of budget and to support inflationary escalation on City allocation that has not been increased since the start of this business cycle (2023-2026).
Motion C2024-1097 bundles three council directions: 1) re-create a Finance and Budget Committee to do detailed reviews of operating budgets and oversee service planning each four-year term, 2) reverse the 2023 transit fare freeze so fare changes can resume and move $3,000,000 into the Primary Transit Network, and 3) ask the provincial government to waive Section 358.1 of the Municipal Government Act to avoid shifting tax burden between residential and non‑residential property classes.
These steps increase council oversight of how money and services are planned, could restart changes to transit fares while directing new funds to transit network improvements, and seek temporary provincial relief to prevent tax-class shifts while assessment values rebalance.