the Association of Czech
Municipalities and the Un-
ion of Towns and Commu-
nities (2%). MUFIS bor-
rowed $44 million from the
US investors backed by the
US government guarantees
and subsequently lent the
funds to commercial banks.
Municipalities then bor-
rowed funds from the banks
for periods between 7 to 15
years to finance housing-re-
lated projects.User Fee: Toronto
In 2009, the city of Toronto
experienced a $500 million
budget deficit. Under Cana-
dian law, cities cannot run a
budget deficit, so the city
had to either increase reve-
nues through taxes and fees,
or cut expenditures to bal-
ance its budget. After con-
sidering other options, city
leaders decided to imple-
ment user fees on a set of city services.
In 2010, residents had to pay user fees for the conveni-
ence of paying a parking ticket by phone or online. Resi-
dents paid $2 for the service — 50 cents more than the
previous fee.
Residents who bought a new home and needed to cre-
ate a property tax account were charged a $50 fee. Also
residents with existing property tax accounts were
charged $50 to make changes to their property tax bill,
which was $15 more than it cost to make billing changes
in 2009.
The cost of taking a city-run program or renting a city-
run facility cost about 3.7% more, and was projected to
bring in $396.3 million in extra revenue. Other fee in-
creases included a $50 registration for fam-
ilies signing up for city recreation pro-
grams, gym rental fees and drop-in swim
fees. User fees helped Toronto reduce its
$500 million budget deficit.Automatic Congestion Pricing: London
In the late 1990s, London suffered from
some of the worst traffic in the UK In Cen-tral London, average traffic speeds would often dip be-
low 10 mph, the lowest since the city started collecting
traffic data. Delays cost both the city and its residents
time and money.
In 2003, the city levied a surcharge for decreasing
congestion in Central London. It began charging sin-
gle-occupancy vehicles a fee to enter, drive, or park in
Central London during working hours. The daily fee
could be paid before or on the day of travel through
various means—online, by telephone or text message,
at select shops and petrol stations, and by post. For
convenience, customers could also register to pay via
an automated payment system. The system recorded
the number of days a vehicle travelled to the conges-In 2009, the city of Toronto
experienced a $500 million budget
deficit. Imposing user fees helped
Toronto reduce its budget deficitCover Story