Paid duty gets a second look

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The city's budget chief has vowed to slay police costs − one of the city's last financial sacred cows − even if it means butting heads with right-wing allies who have shown a reluctance to apply their gravy-cutting ethos to law enforcement.

The latest leg of Councillor Mike Del Grande's quest focused squarely on Toronto's approach to hiring off-duty police for special events and construction zones, also known as paid duty.

At a budget committee meeting on Tuesday, Mr. Del Grande called the $29-million spent each year on such assignments "out of hand" and ordered the city manager to look at replacing police officers with civilian traffic wardens at many sites.

"When we talk about the police, everybody's kind of timid to talk about it," he said. "But you know what, right is right and wrong is wrong."

His pointed criticism of paid-duty work brought Mr. Del Grande into conflict with his "good friend" and fellow committee vice-chair Councillor Doug Ford, who argued that "we're just pounding away on police here when there's so many other inefficiencies happening all over the city" and played down potential savings.

"I think it's ridiculous we're spending an hour pounding away at this," he said. "Keep in mind [paid-duty costs represent]one-half of 1 per cent of the construction projects that we have to pay for."

The two were debating a report to the committee from Auditor-General Jeff Griffiths that urges the city to refine its paid-duty requirements.

The majority of the seven-member committee sided with Mr. Del Grande as he fumed over Mr. Ford's suggestion that paid-duty savings were not worth the committee's time.

"I don't agree with my good friend [Mr. Ford]" he said. "We all know it's out of hand."

The committee voted to investigate the following methods of trimming paid-duty costs:

- Exploring the idea of replacing some paid-duty police with civilian traffic wardens similar to school-crossing guards;

[bullet]/note> - Giving local councillors discretion over deciding if special events require police.

According to the report, nearly $29-million was spent on paid-duty work in 2009, $7.8-million of which came from city coffers. Private contracts picked up the remainder, including pay for security and traffic services at an array of venues from Rogers Centre to street festivals.

In addition to criticizing the cost, some councillors condemned the optics of $65-an-hour officers milling about construction zones.

"It brings officers into ridicule," said Councillor Peter Milczyn. "When I see a couple of dump trucks parked by the side of the road, I don't see the need for police officers there."

The union representing city police has long stated it is open to city hall's directions on paid duty, but said Mr. Milczyn's sentiments only poisoned the debate.

"Those comments are totally out of line," said Mike McCormack , president of the Toronto Police Association. "I've seen councillors having coffee downstairs at City Hall and I don't make assumptions that that's what they do all day."

Mr. McCormack warned that current legislation doesn't allow for the budget committee's demand for traffic wardens, as only police officers have the legal authority to direct traffic.

And replacing paid-duty officers doesn't come without a risk to public safety, police representatives contend. In the last six months, paid-duty officers have made three high-profile arrests. Just last week, the efforts of an officer working at a subway construction site near York University led to the arrest of a 30-year-old man on sexual assault and indecent exposure charges.

"I'm not going to tell you this happens every day," said Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash. "But there is a number of occasions every year where it does. We do know the public is reassured by the heightened uniform presence of paid duty."