61 Rethinking local government: Essays on municipal reform - VATT

Enid Slack – Richard M. Birdtransition is towards a more efficient, effective, and accountable <strong>local</strong><strong>government</strong>, then the costs may be more than offset by the benefits.If not, transitional costs become an additional argument againstamalgamation. One-time transition costs in Toronto, for example,included acquisition of new technology for financial, humanresources, and payroll systems; renovation of existing facilities suchas the Toronto City Hall; and hiring of technical and professionalexpertise with respect to areas such as telecommunications (City ofToronto 1999). In addition to the one-time costs, there are also costsassociated with staff exits.One of the major challenges of the Toronto amalgamation has beenthe amalgamation of the seven previous administrations: “the keypost-amalgamation problem has been leading and controlling the vastadministrative behemoth that the amalgamation created” (Sancton2004, 28). The task of integrating the operations and services of theseven municipalities following amalgamation was enormous andrequired the creation of a new administrative and reporting structure,the implementation of new information systems, the consolidation ofcorporate services, real estate portfolios, and other functions, and theharmonization of human resources policies and classifications (Côté2009).Tax increases, or decreases?Three different questions may be asked about the effects ofamalgamation on <strong>local</strong> taxes. First, did taxes increase or decreaseas a result of the amalgamation? Secondly, what was the effect ofthe amalgamation on tax competition within the amalgamated area?And, thirdly, what was the effect on tax competition within the regionas a whole, the GTA? As with cost savings, the data do not permitdefinitive answers to any of these questions but some things can besaid.117