Yolanda Snels, with children on her lap at left, who runs a small daycare on Toronto Island, came to speak out against the closing of Far Enough Farm, on the island, as well as the other city-run farms in Toronto at City Hall on Sept. 19, 2011.Peter Power/The Globe and Mail
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's executive committee has endorsed a handful of service cuts, but ended a marathon meeting by putting off the most controversial money-saving decisions until later this fall.
A proposal to phase out 2,000 subsidized daycare spaces was pulled by the committee while the city lobbies the province and the federal government for more funding; library closings were also taken off the table; arts and culture grants and funding for other community partnerships was handed off to the city manager for further study, with a report due in November.
Riverdale Farm also was granted at least a temporary reprieve with a motion that gives a community group until the spring to work with city staff on a business plan for its continued operation and hunt for new partners. Plans to sell off the Toronto Zoo and other farms also were watered down, with a recommendation removed to close them if no interested party comes forward.
The committee did back a series of recommendations that would authorize staff to begin the process of selling off all theatres, end city involvement in the Black Creek urban farm and divest from Exhibition Place,
"We are moving ahead in a positive direction," a blurry-eyed mayor told reporters at the end of the 20-hour meeting in which 205 members of the public spoke. "We have to go through the budget process on a few issues. We are doing as much as we can and its been a very thorough process."
While there were plenty of deputations from the public, the meeting was remarkable for the lack of debate on the cuts by members of the committee. The decision on what to spare, what to chop and what to study was presented as a finished product in 17 pages of motions by Councillor David Shiner and Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, with approval given in a single vote. Any negotiations over the proposed cuts among committee members - supporters of the mayor - was not done in public. During the meeting they presented a united front.
Budget chief Mike Del Grande said after the meeting he was not surprised the toughest choices had been left to another day, with many sent to his budget committee. Many, he suggested, are hoping for provincial funding or revenues to solve the city's chronic budget woes.
"Even some of my committee members have a hard time grappling," he said. "They're looking for a Hail Mary pass."
Exactly how large that deficit is was also left unclear: while an estimate of $774-million has been cited for months by city staff and the mayor, Joe Pennachetti told councillors it was actually $500 to $600-million. Closing that gap would take a 15 to 20 per cent tax increase, he said, not the 35 per cent figure used by the mayor and his supporters.
In some ways, the meeting -- which began at 9:30 a.m. Monday and didn't conclude until 5:20 Tuesday morning -- was a repeat of a previous executive session in July, where Torontonians pleaded with executives not to cut services. There were presentations from city unions and representatives of social agencies, along with assorted members of the public: one woman dressed up as Santa Claus, declaring "Christmas is not gravy"; a man described a medieval torture and execution session in lurid detail as a metaphor for proposed cuts to the "urban body."
Overall it was a more subdued affair and, with speaking time cut, it moved through debutants quickly.
At the start of the meeting Monday, Mr. Ford made clear that he was backing off several cuts suggested by the city manager, including closing library branches and reducing snow clearing and street cleaning.
Critics of the mayor called the meeting a waste of time, with most decisions left for another day. Others warned that even the cuts taken off the table could be reintroduced later in budget talks and said a 10 per cent across-the-board cut to city budgets would harm service levels, as will the elimination of an expected 700 jobs through buyouts.
"At the end of the day we are going to be a smaller, meaner city," Councillor Joe Mihevc said.
Here's a snapshot of the proposals, many of which will be considered next week at a special meeting of city council.
What was cut:
>> Museums with the least attendance and revenues compared to costs
>> Developing community service hubs and plans for revitalization in some neighbourhoods
>> Pay-duty police officers at construction sites, where possible
>> Zoning information provided over the phone; this will be moved online
>> Public Realm's Neighbourhood Improvement Program
>> City involvement in Christmas fund for needy children - but only if transferred to appropriate external agency or group
What was saved:
>> Snow clearing and grass cutting standards will remain unchanged
>> No library closings, although service cuts and reduced hours are under consideration
>> Maintain the clearing of snow left by ploughs, called windrows, at foot of driveways in suburbs
>> No cut to investigation and enforcement under licensing and standards
>> Blue night bus service
>> Service levels for Wheel Trans users.
What was put off for another day:
>> Plans to restructuring grants to community groups and arts and culture organizations
>> Proposals to merge of EMS and fire services, transferring city daycare centres to private operators and ending quality assessments
>> Reducing affordable housing development and loan program
>> Animal pick-up and delivery to shelters
>> Four free garbage bag tags
>> Community environment days
>> Consolidation of Toronto Environment Office and Toronto Atmospheric Fund
>> Hardship fund for emergency services for most needy
>> Street cleaning
>> Heritage grants
>> Support for business improvement areas
>> Horticultural activities in parks
>> Dental health program
Adrian Morrow