4 days ago
Kingston city council votes to eliminate taxi commission
Social Sharing
Kingston's city council will eliminate the regulator overseeing local taxis, a move that will see the municipality assume the responsibilities of the embattled organization.
The decision comes after much discussion over the role of the Kingston Area Taxi Commission (KATC) and whether the organization had met its duties of financial accountability and transparency.
"This is a systemic problem," Coun. Brandon Tozzo said Tuesday, during a council meeting which voted to eventually eliminate the KATC.
"It's because the institution started in the late 1980s. And we keep coming back to this issue again and again. And I think it's the institutional design," he said by way of explaining what he saw as intractable problems with the KATC.
Recently the councillor called for the KATC to be dissolved, announcing in a letter he'd stepped down from his role on the regulatory body.
At the heart of the debate are missing audited financial reports, as well as perceived conflicts regarding its governance structure.
Despite years of requests, the KATC has "continuously failed" to provide any financial information, according to a report by the city's chief administrative officer Lanie Hurdle.
In the days preceding Tuesday's meeting, the commission had provided its 2022 numbers, with promises that other missing years would be complete by the first quarter of next year.
It had hoped councillors would delay the vote, allowing for more discussions to take place.
"We're not saying don't go down this path," Simon Chapelle, the KATC's secretary, told CBC News on Tuesday. "What we're saying is, give us an opportunity to address the inaccurate assessments and comments that have been made on social media and to the public"
At the meeting some councillors raised concerns over how much work it'll be for Kingston to take over oversight duties.
"I really don't want this to cost taxpayer money and I really think we need clearer details on that," said District 1 Coun. Gary Oosterhof.
"I believe this is a lot more work than we're letting on."
Oosterhof likened the KATC to an airplane on a runway, about to take off.
"And then we abort the flight," the councillor said. "They have demonstrated considerable ability and readiness to do their work."
Others cited concerns regarding whether the end of the KATC would risk a break in service, especially for the accessible taxi program, which offers those with mobility issues an affordable way to get around.
City staff said work would be done to ensure a smooth transition.
At Tuesday's meeting, Kingston Mayor Bryan Patterson aired his support for the recommendations. He said his decision was guided by conversations with the mayor of Loyalist Township, the other major stakeholder in the KATC.
"This is not, in my view, a framing of, 'Oh, because there were problems, we just decided to close it down,'" Patterson said at the conclusion of council's back-and-forth.
"I actually would frame it differently. I just think that there's an evolution that's taking place."
The mayor had said his decision-making was not based on the mistakes of the past, but on what model he believes will be best for Kingston's future.
Tozzo says he's happy a decision was reached, with a motion to defer the vote failing to secure enough support to pass.
"It's just fairly clear that there were operational issues with the organization," he said over Zoom on Wednesday. "And that six months wouldn't really change that opinion for most of us."
While the city will issue a notice of its intention to withdraw from the KATC, it won't be officially dissolved until September 2026.
