Vaughan Hospital a Step Closer to Reality

While I was recuperating here in the hospital, my colleagues on York Region Council made my day with the passage of the 2009 Operating Budget. That’s because it increases to $12 million York Region’s annual contribution to Hospital Capital Funding for the Region’s three existing hospitals and our hospital project in Vaughan.

As we all know, a hospital in our community is long overdue, and I intend to keep working until the final brick is in place.

The Budget also provides more money to improve community health services, to hire more paramedics, to hire more front line police officers, to improve social services, to improve our roads and to improve public transit.

Now I know what you must be thinking, who is paying for all of this? Well, all of the residents of York Region will pay for these enhanced services through their property taxes. In fact, this year there will be a modest increase in the Regional portion of your tax bill of 2.2 percent (or an annual increase of $42 on a property assessed at $400,000)

I appreciate that it may not be easy to absorb a tax increase, especially during these difficult economic times, but I believe it’s a small price to pay to maintain and enhance our enviable quality of life.