1. REVISION
OF TRANSIT TAX AREAS FOR 2012 Révisions aux zones fiscales du transport en commun
pour 2012 |
CommiSSION RecommendationS AS AMENDED
That Council:
1. Approve the following two revisions to the transit tax
areas, to be effective on January 1, 2012, and that Council enact an
implementing by-law:
·
Expanding the Urban Transit Area to encompass
all of the current Stittsville Town Transit Area, and abolishing the
Stittsville TTA as a separate area; and,
·
Revising the boundary between Rural Transit Area
A and Rural Transit Area B so that it follows Century Road between the Rideau
River and McCordick Road.
2. Direct staff
to correct the transit levy rate improperly applied to the properties in the
Rideau-Goulbourn ward for 2011 and provide a means by which identified
ratepayers are reimbursed the amount of the overpayment, to be funded from the
Transit Capital Reserve.
3. Approve
that as part of the planning of the service increases for Stittsville that are
described in this report, staff examine the following issues in particular:
- The
need for improved access to service for residents in the north western area of
the community;
- The
need for increased evening service;
- The
need for convenient daytime service connecting within the community and to major
destinations; and,
That staff assess how best to address these
issues within the budget for 2012 that Council will establish; and,
That staff consult with the ward councillor
on their conclusions.
Recommandation MODIFIÉES dE LA comMISSION
Que le Conseil :
1. Approuve les deux
modifications suivantes aux zones fiscales du transport en commun, qui
entreront en vigueur le 1er janvier 2012, et d’adopter un
règlement de mise en œuvre visant :
·
l’expansion
de la zone de transport en commun urbain afin qu’elle regroupe toute la zone de
transport en commun actuelle de Stittsville et l’abolition de la zone fiscale
de transport en commun de Stittsville à titre de région à part; et,
·
la
révision de la limite entre le secteur de transport en commun rural A et le
secteur de transport en commun rural B de façon à ce qu’elle suive le chemin
Century, entre la rivière Rideau River et le chemin McCordick.
2. Demande
au personnel de la Ville de corriger le taux de taxation pour le transport en
commun incorrectement imposé aux propriétés du quartier Rideau-Goulbourn en
2011 et de trouver un moyen pour rembourser le trop-perçu des contribuables
visés, remboursement financé à partir du fonds de réserve du transport en
commun.
3. Approuve que
dans le cadre de la planification de l’augmentation des services offerts à
Stittsville décrite dans le présent rapport, le personnel étudie en particulier
les questions suivantes :
- Le
besoin d’un meilleur accès aux services pour les résidents du secteur
nord-ouest de la communauté;
- Le
besoin d’un meilleur service en soirée;
- Le
besoin d’un service de jour adapté à la communauté et qui la relie aux
principales destinations;
Que le personnel évalue la meilleure façon de résoudre
ces questions en respectant le budget de 2012 établi par le Conseil;
Que le personnel consulte le conseiller de quartier
quant à ses conclusions.
Documentation
1.
General
Manager, Transit Services report dated 12 October 2011 (ACS2011-ICS-TRA-0023).
2.
Extract
of draft Minutes 12, Transit Commission
meeting of 19 October, 2011
Report to/Rapport au :
Transit Commission
Commission du transport en commun
and Council / et au Conseil
12 October 2011 / 12 octobre 2011
Transit
Services/Services du transport en
commun
SUBJECT: |
REVISION
OF TRANSIT TAX AREAS FOR 2012 |
OBJET : |
Révisions aux zones fiscales du transport en commun
pour 2012 |
That the Transit Commission
recommend that Council approve the following two revisions to the transit tax
areas, to be effective on January 1, 2012, and that Council enact an
implementing by-law:
·
Expanding the Urban Transit Area to encompass
all of the current Stittsville Town Transit Area, and abolishing the
Stittsville TTA as a separate area; and,
·
Revising the boundary between Rural Transit
Area A and Rural Transit Area B so that it follows Century Road between the
Rideau River and McCordick Road.
Que la Commission du transport en commun recommande au Conseil
d’approuver les deux modifications suivantes aux zones fiscales du transport en
commun, qui entreront en vigueur le 1er janvier 2012, et
d’adopter un règlement de mise en œuvre visant :
·
l’expansion
de la zone de transport en commun urbain afin qu’elle regroupe toute la zone de
transport en commun actuelle de Stittsville et l’abolition de la zone fiscale
de transport en commun de Stittsville à titre de région à part; et,
·
la
révision de la limite entre le secteur de transport en commun rural A et le
secteur de transport en commun rural B de façon à ce qu’elle suive le chemin
Century, entre la rivière Rideau River et le chemin McCordick.
Background
Property taxes to fund the net operating and capital costs of transit
service are now collected at different rates in four different areas, and
different service standards apply in each of these areas. The four areas are:
·
Urban
Transit Area (UTA) – Net operating costs of the conventional transit and Para
Transpo service and capital costs of transit vehicles and facilities within the
UTA boundaries, including all support costs;
·
Stittsville
Town Transit Area (TTA) – Net operating costs of the conventional transit
service within Stittsville and on express routes from Stittsville to downtown,
plus the same share of Para Transpo costs and capital costs as in the UTA;
·
Rural
Transit Area A (RTA-A) – Net operating and capital costs of the transit service
within RTA-A and on rural express routes from RTA-A to downtown, plus the
proportionate share of net operating costs of Para Transpo service in the rural
areas (RTA-A and RTA-B together), plus a share of the maintenance costs of park
and ride lots in the UTA;
·
Rural
Transit Area B (RTA-B) – The proportionate share of net operating costs of Para
Transpo service in the rural areas (RTA-A and RTA-B together), plus a share of
the maintenance costs of park and ride lots in the UTA.
The recommendations in this report arise from two past decisions of
Council:
·
At its
meeting of October 31, 2008, Council approved the three-year transition of the
Stittsville Town Transit Area to urban transit levels of service, with the aim
that Stittsville would be included in the Urban Transit Area at the end of that
transition period.
·
At its
meetings of January 25 to 28, 2010, Council approved the removal in April 2010 of
the section of OC Transpo Route 245 south of Century Road in Manotick. With
this change, there is no OC Transpo service provided from North Gower, Kars,
Carleton Golf and Yacht Club, or the surrounding areas.
DISCUSSION
Stittsville
The transition of the Stittsville Town Transit Area into the Urban
Transit Area was approved by Council at its meeting of October 31, 2008. Fare
reductions were made in 2010 so that fares to, from, and within Stittsville are
now the same as in the UTA for both conventional and Para Transpo service. The
network optimization that was carried out in 2011 across the OC Transpo system
used the same measurements and standards for routes in Stittsville as were used
for routes in the UTA. There remain three routes in Stittsville that are
currently operating less frequently than UTA service standards would direct.
Starting in January 2012, with the approval of this report, service on
Route 96 from Stittsville in the morning peak period (06:30 to 08:30) and to
Stittsville in the afternoon peak period (16:00 to 19:00) will be increased to
every 15 minutes. Service on Route 261 will be increased from four trips to
five in both the morning peak period and the afternoon peak period. Service on Route 263 will also be increased
from four trips to five in the morning peak period. The additional costs of
approximately $255,000 to provide these trips will be included in the 2012
transit service budget. A further $124,000 will be included to fund improved
midday service within Stittsville starting in September 2012, with detailed
recommendations to be developed through the Transplan planning and consultation
process.
With the inclusion of Stittsville in the UTA and its equal
participation in all transit funding, the equivalent 2011 transit taxes in
Stittsville would have been approximately $545 instead of approximately $406
(for a typical house assessed at $304,800). The costs of the service increases
on Routes 96, 261, and 263 and the increased midday service will be funded by
using part of the increased tax revenue.
The UTA is currently defined by By-law 2009-395 and the Stittsville TTA
by By-law 2005-529. With the approval of this report, a by-law would be
prepared to expand the UTA to include all land that is now part of the TTA.
Document 1, attached to this report, shows the current Stittsville TTA.
North Gower, Kars, and Carleton
Golf and Yacht Club
The current boundary between Rural Transit Area A and Rural Transit Area
B was established by Council in 2002 and generally reflected the areas that
were or were not served by rural express routes to downtown. The extents of
those services have not changed substantially since 2002, except for the
removal of the section of Route 245 south of Manotick in April 2010.
With the removal of the section of Route 245 south of Manotick, there
is no longer OC Transpo service available from North Gower, Kars, Carleton Golf
and Yacht Club, and the surrounding area. It is recommended that this area be
moved from RTA-A into RTA-B so that the taxes collected in this area are lower,
to reflect the greater distance from transit service, and so that the taxes
collected in this area no longer fund a share of the costs incurred in
providing service from the other parts of RTA-A.
Map 2, attached to this report, shows the current and recommended
boundary between RTA-A and RTA-B. The boundary would follow Century Road
between the Rideau River and McCordick Road rather than McCordick Road between
the Rideau River and Century Road. The two rural transit areas are currently
defined by By-law 2009-409. With the approval of this report, a by-law would be
prepared to enact the revised boundary.
With this change, the equivalent 2011 transit taxes in the affected
area would have been approximately $50 instead of approximately $123 per year (for
a typical house assessed at $304,800). As the costs of providing transit
service in RTA-A would be funded from a smaller assessment base and as those
costs would not change as a result of this decision (though they did decline
slightly with the removal of that section of Route 245), equivalent 2011 transit
taxes in the rest of RTA-A would have been approximately $134 instead of approximately
$123.
Other urban and rural parts of
the City
No other changes are recommended to the transit area boundaries for
2012. Staff examined areas where new development is currently or imminently
occurring in urban areas, and they are encompassed within the current UTA
boundary. Staff also examined whether any adjustments to the boundary between
RTA-A and RTA-B were appropriate other than the one that is recommended, and
there has been no substantial change in access to rural express service since
the boundary was set in 2002.
The recommended change to the boundary between Rural Transit Area A and
Rural Transit Area B has the effect of reducing taxes in one area where transit
service has been removed and making a small increase in taxes in the remainder
of Rural Transit Area A. There are no changes to transit service or to total
tax revenue collected by the City resulting from this recommendation.
The recommended inclusion of Stittsville in the Urban Transit Area
follows a policy direction set by Council in 2008 and was the subject of no
specific consultation in 2011. The recommended revision to the boundary between
Rural Transit Area A and Rural Transit Area B follows input that was received
by the Transit Commission during the decision to remove the southernmost part
of Route 245. Also, comments were provided by Councillor Moffatt and the former
councillor for the ward.
Comments by the Ward Councillor(s)
The ward councillors have been consulted and understand the reasons for
the staff recommendation.
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
There
are no legal impediments in implementing the recommendations in this report.
There are no risk management impediments to the implementation of this
report’s recommendation.
The recommendation to incorporate Stittsville into the Urban Transit
Area includes an extension of the standardized service level to the area. An
incremental operating cost of approximately $379,000 per year will be
incorporated into the 2012 Transit budget, which will be presented to the
Transit Commission and Council separately from this report. The costs of the service increases will be
funded largely by increased tax revenue
The recommendation to change the boundary between Rural Transit Area A
and Rural Transit Area B has no overall implication to the total amount of
property tax revenues levied. However,
there will be a reduction of approximately $73 (based on 2011 average
residential assessment) to properties removed from RTA-A and an increase of
approximately $11 to the remaining properties within the RTA-A (based on 2011
average residential assessment).
Technology
Implications
N/A
Document 1 – Stittsville
Town Transit Area
Document 2 – Recommended
revision to the boundary between Rural Transit Area A and Rural Transit Area B
Upon approval of the recommendations in this report, two by-laws will
be presented for enactment. Those by-laws will replace the current By-laws
2005-529, 2009-395, and 2009-409.
STITTSVILLE TOWN TRANSIT AREA DOCUMENT
1
DOCUMENT 2
RECOMMENDED REVISION TO THE
BOUNDARY BETWEEN RURAL TRANSIT AREA A AND RURAL TRANSIT AREA B
EXTRACT OF draft Minutes 12 19 october 2011 |
|
extrait de l’Ébauche Du ProcÈs-verbal 12 LE 19 octobre 2011 |
REVISION OF TRANSIT TAX AREAS FOR
2012
RÉVISIONS
AUX ZONES FISCALES DU TRANSPORT EN COMMUN POUR 2012
ACS2011-ICS-TRA-0023 CITY WIDE/À
L'ÉCHELLE DE LA VILLE
REPORT
RECOMMENDATION
That
the Transit Commission recommend that Council approve the following two
revisions to the transit tax areas, to be effective on January 1, 2012, and
that Council enact an implementing by-law:
·
Expanding the Urban Transit Area to encompass
all of the current Stittsville Town Transit Area, and abolishing the
Stittsville TTA as a separate area; and,
·
Revising the boundary between Rural Transit
Area A and Rural Transit Area B so that it follows Century Road between the
Rideau River and McCordick Road.
Pat
Scrimgeour, Manager, Transit Service Design provided a PowerPoint presentation
overview of the staff report. A copy of
the presentation is held on file with the City Clerk.
MOTION OTC 12/3
Moved by Commissioner S. Blais
WHEREAS parts of the Rideau-Goulbourn
ward were incorrectly included in rural transit area “A” in By-law 2011-174
rather than area “B” which has a lower transit levy rate and reflects the
service level provided; and
WHEREAS the 2012 boundary will properly
describe the rural transit areas “A” and “B”; and
WHEREAS the City needs to correct the
transit levy rate applied to the Rideau-Goulbourn ward in 2011 and ensure that
affected ratepayers are reimbursed for the amount they were overcharged; and
WHEREAS the cost of the reimbursement is
expected to be approximately $180,000 and there are sufficient funds in the
Transit Capital Reserve to accommodate this one-time requirement;
EXTRACT OF draft Minutes 12 19 october 2011 |
|
extrait de l’Ébauche Du ProcÈs-verbal 12 LE 19 octobre 2011 |
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT City staff
be directed to correct the transit levy rate improperly applied to the
properties in the Rideau-Goulbourn
ward for 2011 and provide a means by
which identified ratepayers are reimbursed the amount of the overpayment, to be
funded from the Transit Capital Reserve.
CARRIED
MOTION OTC 12/4
Moved by Commissioner S. Qadri
That
as part of the planning of the service increases for Stittsville that are
described in this report, staff examine the following issues in particular:
- The need for
improved access to service for residents in the north western area of the
community;
- The need for increased evening
service;
- The need for
convenient daytime service connecting within the community and to major
destinations; and,
That
staff assess how best to address these issues within the budget for 2012 that
Council will establish; and,
That
staff consult with the ward councillor on their conclusions.
CARRIED
The report recommendation was then put to the Commission and CARRIED, as amended by Motions OTC 12/3 and 12/4.