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“If you take the tax room out, we’ve actually increased our municipal taxes by less than the rate of population growth and inflation over the past seven years. And today, we did it again,” he said.

“People get very, very good value for their money and they’re paying far less than they would in any other big city.”

The city’s $4-billion operating budget was approved in an 11-4 vote after four days of debate, with councillors Joe Magliocca, Ward Sutherland, George Chahal and Jeromy Farkas voting against.

The $1.7-billion capital budget passed unanimously after less than 15 minutes of debate.

Ward 12 Coun. and Green Line LRT champion Shane Keating praised council’s 13-2 decision to take $23.7 million of tax room and use the money for the next 27 years to fund debt servicing costs for the massive multibillion-dollar transit project.

“Obviously, this is the way it had to go. It’s an exceptional project. … It has to go forward for the sake of the city and the sake of the residents in those areas,” Keating said after the vote.

Only councillors Magliocca and Farkas voted against taking the tax room — money that’s occasionally left on the table when the province takes less education tax than what the city budgets for.

Tax room was grabbed by the city from 2011 until 2013, until council rescinded a motion that saw the city automatically absorb the money left by the province.