Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair speaking to The Globe and Mail on June 24, 2011, following the release of a report on the police action during the G20.The Globe and Mail
With budget season at City Hall fast approaching, the city's disparate agencies are struggling meet Mayor Rob Ford's demand of a 10-per-cent cut at all departments. On Thursday, one agency succeeded and one fell well short.
THE POLICE
Toronto police board members tried in vain on Thursday to apply a triumphant sheen to a budget that is $44-million larger than they'd hoped.
The board approved a $936.3-million proposal from Chief Bill Blair for 2012, $6-million more than the force spent last year.
That budget boost comes in spite of a directive from mayor Rob Ford and city manager Joe Pennachetti to cut the budget by 10 per cent.
Up until Oct. 5, board members councillors Michael Thompson and Frances Nunziata appeared determined to carry out the mayor's orders and wrestle the budget down to $886.4-million within one year. They rejected the chief's last proposal of a 1.5 per cent increase, telling him a failure to find 10 per cent could cost him his job.
The most recent budget amounts to a 0.6 per cent increase in year-over-year spending. On Thursday, Ms. Nunziata trumpeted the progress, obviously deciding some time over the past two weeks that a 10 per cent cut over one year was a fool's errand.
"Some things are impossible to do," she said after voting in favour of the new budget. "We'll now try to achieve it over two years and I think we can do it without layoffs."
ZOO
City cost-cutting measures have forced the Toronto Zoo to raise prices when weather suits giraffes and charge less when it suits penguins.
Admission for warmer peak months in spring and summer will rise from $23 to $25 for adults and $13 to $15 for kids. The rest of the year it will drop to $20 for adults.
The new pricing strategy, approved by the zoo board on Thursday, is expected to haul in an extra $520,000 worth of revenue, part of an effort to make up for a $1.1-million cut from City Hall.
The board also voted to slash the zoo's marketing campaign, rein in hours for temporary staff and shorten winter hours.
"This was very difficult," said zoo CEO John Tracogna. "We went line-by-line through every item."
Mr. Tracogna said the Zoo would make up for a $140,000 marketing cut by pushing more of its promotion onto social media such as Twitter and Facebook.
One public speaker at the meeting suggested the zoo could easily save another $1-million by sending its three elephants to a California sanctuary free of charge. The board voted months ago to ship Iringa, Toka and Thika to another AZA-accredited zoo, certification the sanctuary doesn't qualify for.
"I know they voted against it, but there's significant financial incentive to do it," said Zoocheck Canada campaigns director Julie Woodyer, adding it would take just two weeks to train the elephants for their trip.
The cost cutting comes at an uncertain time. City council voted last month to sell or lease the facility it has owned and run since the 1970s.
Patrick White