City budget endorsement includes $26 million for electric buses

London city councillors endorsed budget amendments that will hold next year's property tax rate at 2.8 per cent, a figure that works out to about a $90 increase on a home assessed at $241,000 in 2019. 

Among the biggest line items approved in a special council budget committee on Thursday is a plan to earmark $26 million to bring zero-emission electric buses to the London Transit Commission (LTC) fleet.

While it will only deliver 10 electric buses to start — only about five per cent of the LTC fleet — some councillors said it's an important move, one they hope will encourage senior governments to contribute.

"For us to put money on the table is a way for us to show that we're committed to pursuing this path, and we're committed to pursuing this [federal] funding," said Coun. Josh Morgan. 

City staff told council they're hopeful that up to half of the city's tab for the electric buses can eventually be offset by money from the federal government's $2.75 billion Zero-Emission Transit Fund.

Only about $11 million of the $26-million project will go toward the actual vehicles. The rest will pay for much-needed infrastructure to support the shift to electric power, including charging stations and upgrades to the electrical grid. 

"In the long run, it's really going to lower the operating costs of transit, which is borne by the property taxpayers and fare payers," said Coun. Jesse Helmer. "And it does require these up-front capital investments. I think it's one of the best things to come out of this budget cycle overall." 

London uses a four-year budget with annual updates to give council the chance to make adjustments to spending. Next year is year four of the current cycle. Across those four years, London taxpayers will see an average rate increase of 3.8 per cent. 

Councillors kept this year's increase down through such measures as:

Councillors rejected proposed cuts to the Neighbourhood Decision Making program ($100,000) and approved $850,000 to support RBC Place Convention Centre as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect revenue.