Search Results for: IMFG Paper

IMFG Paper | 2019

Development Charges in Ontario: Is Growth Paying for Growth?

Ontario’s Development Charges Act (DCA) provides the legal framework within which municipalities recover growth-related capital costs from the new development giving rise to such costs. While the purpose of the DCA is to ensure that growth pays for itself, the way the DCA is designed prevents it from achieving its obvious goal.
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IMFG Paper | 2018

The Platform Economy and Regulatory Disruption

Platform economy firms such as Uber and Airbnb have attracted attention in cities around the world, given the impact of these firms on the existing taxi industry or the rental market, but little has been written about the effects of the platform economy on municipal fiscal health. This paper estimates the regulatory cost and potential revenue opportunities of the platform economy, examining the impact of three firms in Toronto: Uber, Airbnb, and Rover.
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IMFG Paper | 2018

Returning to the Golden Rule of Balanced Budgets

In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, both politicians and public finance economists focused their attention on ways to control public budget deficits and debt. Around the world, detailed and precise regulations affected how governments could deal with public deficit and debt.
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IMFG Paper | 2018

The Public Finance Challenges of Fracking for Local Governments in the United States

Fracking has revolutionized international oil and gas markets practically overnight, but its impact on local public finance and governance have largely been overlooked. While operating under federal and state constraints, the key ongoing policy question is whether and to what extent local governments can – and should – have the power to manage the industry’s effects on their communities.
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IMFG Paper | 2018

Climate Finance for Canadian Cities: Is Debt Financing a Viable Alternative?

This paper explores climate finance, the provision of financing by private actors for projects intended to decrease carbon emissions or make cities more resilient to the impacts of climate change. It analyzes four climate financing tools used in other jurisdictions – green bonds, environmental impact bonds, catastrophe bonds, and green banks – and their feasibility under current Ontario regulations.
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IMFG Paper | 2017

Re-imagining Community Councils in Canadian Local Government

In 2015, Toronto City Council asked city staff to review community councils as part of the City’s ward boundary review process. Toronto’s ward boundary review realigned the city’s wards, so the City now needs to set new boundaries for community councils. Staff has been directed to report back to Council in 2017 on the “impacts to governance and structure changes to the authority, duties, and function of community councils.” Meanwhile, in November 2016, the Province of Ontario introduced measures to strengthen the use of community councils across Ontario. There is thus a unique opportunity available to re-imagine the authority and use of Toronto’s community councils.
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IMFG Paper | 2017

Paying for Water in Ontario's Cities: Past, Present, and Future

Throughout much of the 20th century, water was seen as plentiful and water rates did not promote conservation. Today, water is treated as a relatively scarce resource and governments are concerned about financing new and rehabilitated infrastructure. However, most municipalities still do not set prices for water at levels that would encourage conservation, thereby allowing the overconsumption of water, and leading to increased demand for expensive infrastructure.
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