What the FORD *** is going on at City Hall
A look at Rob Ford's position on city services Rachel Venturo | Staff Writer It seems like Mayor Rob Ford’s waistband is not the only thing that he is trying to control. Since presenting the 2012 Toronto budget, there continues to be widespread hostility and namecalling within city hall. Many councilors have deemed Ford’s budget an example of his “radical conservative agenda”, using what appears to be the buzzwords of the week. In response, Ford maturely told a local radio station that five of his councilors were “two steps left of Joe Stalin” for trying to save many of his proposed cuts. Yet a number of councilors continue to step forward discontent with
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the mayor’s “gravy-cutting” agenda. After heavy debate, Ford’s city budget, which included $50-million worth of reduced spending, was passed with $19-million worth of cuts removed. Although the strict budget was diluted with a number of reinstated programs, it is projected that city hall will spend even less than last year. Ford was successful in keeping the property tax increase to a modest 2.5 per cent. The money for this would be sourced from layoffs and buy outs within the city work force. Councilors were successful in saving library branches, school pools, and student nutrition programs. Yet many of the eliminated cuts appear to be frivolous and are raising eyebrows. Councilors dipped into last year’s surplus to save ten arenas that were to be closed during non-peak daytime hours in which they were in use only 8% of the time and three small city-owned daycares that were only 43 per cent full even though Ford promised to guarantee these families a place in other community facilities. Their solutions are only temporary fixes because questions about these programs will again arise in next year’s city budget. Dipping into last year’s profits only guarantees these institutions another year. Despite
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widespread disagreement in regards to Ford’s radical saving plans, it is becoming worrisome that councilors are saving programs just for the sake of standing up to the mayor. In addition to the lingering hostility over the city’s budget, Ford may also soon face legal trouble. Since scrapping Transit City in December 2010, Councilor Joe Mihevc has sought legal opinion investigating the legality of the mayor’s decision. Ford replaced the plan with a fully tunneled Eglinton extension. Mihevc began probing Ford’s authority to cancel Transit City because of the importance and expensiveness of this decision. It now appears that the councilor received the answer he was looking for. Legal sources have weighed in and determined that Ford’s choice was beyond his power. It is also unknown as to how this will complicate his recent agreement with TTC Chair Karen Stintz to extend the Sheppard subway line and add street-level transit along Finch Ave W to save $2-billion in the replacement plan for Transit City. In the wake of the newly released budget and Ford’s developing legal woes, it seems like city hall has began the new year heavily divided and standoffish. Unlike his new diet, many hope that Ford’s gravy-cutting train will not soon spread into the mashed potatoes or stuffing.
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See what Ford is singing about. Pg 13
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