Ford funds: the mayor introduced his first budget today at city hall (Image: City of Toronto)
As we’ve already mentioned, Rob Ford introduced his budget at a morning press conference. There will be arguments aplenty over whether Ford is breaking his promise to not have any “major” service cuts, or whether the mayor has the right priorities for the city. For now, it’s probably enough to get some idea of what the changes are. Here are the highlights (these things always involve a bit of number fatigue, so bear with us).
- Ford threatened heads of boards who brought in budget requests higher than his mandated five per cent cuts—specifically naming the police, library and public health boards for their misbehaviour. The mayor and Bill Blair have a meeting scheduled for later today at which we imagine the temperature will be lower than the wind chill.
- 47 bus routes are having their service hours cut (usually after 10 p.m.), though some will be “reallocated” to other routes. The full list of proposed route reductions is here, and there’s an unofficial map here. (Students’ favourite way to get from the U of T campus bars to a house party on Annette, the 26 Dupont bus, is getting cut after 10 p.m.) There are some questions about whether this will even work. How can the TTC increase bus service during rush hour when it currently uses 100 per cent of its buses at that time? Cuts to off-peak routes won’t create new buses.
- The urban affairs branch of the library is gone. The darling of downtown bookworms was probably never going to survive under this mayor. The branch will be relocated to the Reference Library. Adam Vaughan is asking how closing an entire branch isn’t a “major cut”; city staff are calling it a “rationalization.”
- $100,000 cut from the tenant defence fund, which is supposed to do exactly what its name implies: help tenants in disputes with their landlords. So renters—who already have a hard time getting people’s attention—just got a little less help.
- $23 million in user fee increases, consisting of, well, Ford doesn’t know yet (details apparently coming tomorrow). If there are any overdue books in your closet, though, we recommend returning those sooner rather than later.
- Oh, and that pretty four-rink hockey centre that was planned for the Lower Donlands? That’s cut, too.
Probably the most noteworthy thing about this budget is that almost all of the fiscal room Ford is using to keep (some) taxes frozen and keep (some) services from being cut comes from the accumulated surplus of the 2009 and 2010 budgets, care of David Miller and former budget chief Shelley Carroll. Once more, we assume that given the results, neither the current or former mayor enjoys people pointing that out.
• Ford to balance books with no new taxes, no big service cuts [Globe and Mail]
• City Budget: Small cuts now, pain for 2012 [Toronto Star]
No cuts to services and no tax increases- that was the promise repeated over and over again. And it’s broken with the first budget.D’uh. Like we really thought he wasn’t lying to us? Just another politician who’ll say anything and do anything to get elected- and now he’s on his own personal mayoral gravy train. Is there a recall or impeachment law for city pol’s? How do we get one going? If you can be prosecuted for lying to a judge in court- what about lying to the people?
January 10, 2011 at 1:18 pm | by Neil Fosterjust sakin’ and fed up.
Sincerely
NFoster
You dumb ass Torontonians deserve what you voted for!!Now you want impeachment & recall ? Get real Neil. Any idiot could see what this Ford dude was all about- a multi millionaire who plays on the commoners emotions about cleaning up the gravy train…yeah right!! U think this year budget is anything..wait until next year! GOOD LUCK!
January 10, 2011 at 3:56 pm | by YVRCan’t wait until next year’s budget. Cut the fat from the city. We can’t afford it. If any of you left wing pinko knobs think the stuff being cut is more important than paying off our city’s debt then just take a look at the E.U. To see what happens when It’s time to pay the debts.
Good job, Rob. Keep up the great work.
January 10, 2011 at 6:33 pm | by Paul AlvesHa,ha,ha,ha! Way to go Mr. Ford. Your the man!
Funny, when seriously overpaid and underworked Chief Blair was given a choice, a 5% cut or we replace you, I guess for Blair it was a no brainer.
Cut’s it is.
I mean, where else is he going to find a sucker to hire him for that annual salary & pension plan? lolololol
As for the library….come on now, amalgamating books is no big deal.
Surely not to justify all the squawking from the negative commenters.
And the TTC 10 cent increase. Well, I think that if TTC unions got out of the picture, that 10 cents would not be happening. In fact, I think that the service would be better and the fares would be cheaper. Here’s hoping Mr. Ford can do something about that in the 2012 budget. I hear that that’s when the real cuts will come in.
Yeah Mr. Ford, no need to watch over you. You are a man of your word and very business savvy too! WE ARE PROUD OF YOU! :))))
January 10, 2011 at 10:07 pm | by MissyMissy –
1. “You’re” the man, not “your”.
2. “Cuts it is” not “cut’s”. No apostrophe.
I got bored after the first two lines, but I guess this demonstrates your level of education…
January 11, 2011 at 12:39 am | by Downtown guyleft wing pinko knobs? get an education bud… and no, being able to read the toronto sun doesn’t mean you have an education especially when all you probably do is look at the sunshine girl…
You might think you’ll be saving money but guess what? If it’s not coming out of your wallet, it will be coming out of your ass in massive lump sums and you’ll be too stupid to even realize it (didn’t water go up 9% and garbage 3%) and then you’ll still be blaming someone else like miller or immigrants… come on bud! wake up and smell the tim horton’s double, double… toronto is doomed just like ontario was when harris was in charge…
January 11, 2011 at 1:59 pm | by Jim the Canadian@Jim the Canadian: You sound like a moron. Get an education? Ummm, yeah ok. Like that’s really going to accomplish anything. There are people out there with degrees out the wazoo, only to make $13/hour. Maybe you should think before you post. Did you really think that with the status quo, it was really going to get better for the people who work and get taxed to death?? C’mon man. Give your head a shake. Paul Alves is right. We can’t afford the David Miller budget. Like seriously, do you give a damn about Blair getting a pay raise?? Do you give a crap about a hockey rink you never use because you’re too busy being a slave? Jeeze..
January 11, 2011 at 2:27 pm | by Get RealFolks,
It’s time to reduce. We can’t keep on lavishing OUR tax dollars forever. I’m with Ford and his direction at this time. He isn’t the right guy to evolve the city, but, if he can cleanup the wastefulness, the next mayor can spend more wisely. Make peace everyone! Conservatism helps clean up the failing services and Liberalism helps develop new and innovative ideas. Both are needed in an alternating fashion.
January 11, 2011 at 2:51 pm | by CDfromTOhey everyone fudges their budgets, Ford is calling their bluff, property owners are tired of all the Liberalism you can’t have everything…
January 11, 2011 at 9:12 pm | by dumbstuffalso if there were accumulated surplus in 2009 why did you increase taxes…give us a break…
January 11, 2011 at 9:14 pm | by dumbstuffThis is our chance to defeat Rob Ford now and make him a lame duck for the next 4 years.
If councillors think they will lose the next election over this issue they will quickly switch sides and vote against the extremist right wing agenda of Ford and his small group of hardliners.
Call Mayor Ford at 416-397-FORD (3673) and email him at mayor_ford@toronto.ca and contact other city councillors http://app.toronto.ca/im/council/councillors.jsp to demand that they not only don’t cut the Tenant Defense Fund but increase it due to the rapidly rising rates of rent increases since the recession that are causing widespread economic evictions of the poor, visible minorities, disabled and elderly.
January 19, 2011 at 10:14 am | by MarqueThe city is considering gutting much of the Tenant Defense fund the only thing preventing many poor tenants from homelessness.
We all need to be calling our city councillors today to demand no cuts to this and other essential tenant programs.
You need to call today. Call 311 and demand to talk to your city councillor personally. Don’t talk to a secretary demand to talk to your councillor as is our right! Also call up Rob Ford 416-397-FORD (3673) mayor_ford@toronto.ca Let them know we will be protesting at city hall and if they force us at their homes before they make these cuts that will leave thousands of poor helped every year become homeless
The mean spirited landlord group the Greater Torotno Apartmnt Association takes the money they extort from our overpriced rents and uses our own money to lobby against us. This is from there June 2010 magazine Building Blocks.
Tenant Defence Fund. In 2000, City Council created the “Tenant Defence Fund” of $150,000 per year to fund tenant disputes on above the guideline (AGI) rent increase applications and $150,000 a year to the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations (FMTA) to advocate. Despite the original concept of the program it has morphed into whatever the politicians serving on the Committee want it to be. This is a very “political” fund and needs to be reigned in.
Recommendation: commit to a full review of this program and possibly ending it
We need to be protesting any cuts to these essential tenant programs at City Hall. We should also protest the
Greater Toronto Apartment Association
20 Upjohn Road, Suite 103 Toronto, ON M3B 2V9
Phone: 416 385 3435 Fax: 416 385 8096
E-mail: samw@gtaaonline.com
It is the lowest of the low to take money out of our mouths and then use it to try to put us all into the poorhouse.
January 25, 2011 at 1:52 pm | by GeordieNo surprise to me Ford knows a jackoff like don cherry and to allow him to insult the council is outragous, but then ford is a red neck wing nut himself.
You losers who voted in this cretin have very few brain cells. lol
April 11, 2011 at 4:41 pm | by bobTenant Defence Fund Budget Cut
On February 24th, 2011 City Council passed the new budget for the City, including a cut to the Tenant Defense Fund of $100,000 a fund that provides essential services to poor tenants. $25,000 was cut from the grant money that tenants can access in order to challenge above guideline rent increases, demolitions, and conversions, and $75 000 was cut from the tenant education and support services offered by the FMTA. The cuts will result in a reduction in services provided by each branch of the FMTA, that is, the Tenant Hotline, the Outreach and Organizing Team, and the Tenant Education Project.
Of the 45 city councilors, 23 supported the heartless cuts while 22 voted to keep the funding for providing these necessary city services.
Voting against the cuts and defending tenants rights:
Maria Augimeri, Ana Bailão, Shelley Carroll, Raymond Cho, Janet Davis, Glenn De Baeremaeker, Sarah Doucette, John Filion, Paula Fletcher, Mary Fragedakis, Mike Layton, Chin Lee, Josh Matlow, Pam McConnell, Mary-Margaret McMahon, Joe Mihevc, John Parker, Gord Perks, Anthony Perruzza, Jaye Robinson, Adam Vaughan, Kristyn Wong-Tam
Voting to cut essential services to the poor and tenants:
Paul Ainslie, Michelle Berardinetti, Josh Colle, Gary Crawford, Vincent Crisanti, Mike Del Grande, Frank Di Giorgio, Doug Ford, Rob Ford, Mark Grimes, Doug Holyday, Norman Kelly, Gloria Lindsay Luby, Giorgio Mammoliti, Peter Milczyn, Denzil Minnan-Wong, Ron Moeser, Frances Nunziata (Chair), Cesar Palacio, James Pasternak, David Shiner, Karen Stintz, Michael Thompson
Make sure if your councillor was part of this attack on tenants than your neighbors know about this.
Contact the enemies of tenants and get your friends to do the same to let them and their people know we won’t put up with this attack on the poor. You can find the contact info on these slimy politicians here http://app.toronto.ca/im/council/councillors.jsp
May 31, 2011 at 6:53 pm | by HowardFord giving more money for the welfare bums and taking it off you home owners with a nice tax hike and one of many I am sure.
Ford will create jobs for contractors and line a few pockets while the suckers who they will employ would be better off at tim hortons , lol
You moronic fools who voted this goof in , lol
November 28, 2011 at 4:39 pm | by ron