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Rob Ford's Toronto

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You can’t talk about 2014 or 2015
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But Rob...nobody was asking you about 2014 or 2015 (especially since 2015 isn't even in your term as mayor). They asked about 2012, which is 10 months away. And to say you don't even think about the 2012 budget until 2012 arrives is pure BS. Especially when it's a record-breaking deusy like this one.

And if you think a $774 million deficit is bad, it gets worse. That $774 million includes a $25 million increase in the Land Transfer Tax (above its current $200 million). But of course he's promised to get rid of it, so the real deficit is a cool $1 billion.

How can you tell when a person is a fiscal retard? Balance the account this year by cleaning out the savings account, the retirement fund and the kid's college fund. Next year...start selling off the furniture. And that's what he's going to do...start selling off city assets, cause I somehow doubt he's going to end this year with a $1 billion surplus any other way.
 
Frankie1984 said:
Have no fear! Rob Ford is not fazed in the least about the huge budget deficit in the upcoming years because quite frankly, it's too far away for him.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...ltimillion-dollar-budget-hole/article1917768/
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Is it strange that so few supporters of Ford are actually able to fully support Ford's actions on the budget (not social or transportation), but instead call out Miller for his supposedly tax n' spend ways?

There'll be massive pains to come- surely some increases in the commercial sector are to come. Glen, your battle isn't over yet!
 
freshcutgrass said:
But Rob...nobody was asking you about 2014 or 2015 (especially since 2015 isn't even in your term as mayor). They asked about 2012, which is 10 months away. And to say you don't even think about the 2012 budget until 2012 arrives is pure BS. Especially when it's a record-breaking deusy like this one.

And if you think a $774 million deficit is bad, it gets worse. That $774 million includes a $25 million increase in the Land Transfer Tax (above its current $200 million). But of course he's promised to get rid of it, so the real deficit is a cool $1 billion.

How can you tell when a person is a fiscal retard? Balance the account this year by cleaning out the savings account, the retirement fund and the kid's college fund. Next year...start selling off the furniture. And that's what he's going to do...start selling off city assets, cause I somehow doubt he's going to end this year with a $1 billion surplus any other way.
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He couldn't find the gravy, so he is selling off the beef and not even thinking of any future meals.
 
Speaking of gravy...

http://www.thestar.com/news/torontocouncil/article/944547--city-to-spend-3-million-on-consultants

Likely signs of problems if you can't identify the gravy in your own house (which Ford should already know since he's attended all budget meetings during the Miller period, right?). It's a lose-lose situation.

You either rush the consultants (who likely don't understand how the city works in detail), and come up with a generalized list of of "cost-cutting measures" that are basically what we all know already.
Or, you could allow them to do their job and pay out the big bucks to listen to their theories.

He should be relying on the finance departments to do their job, and if they can't do it, he should fire them and hire the best to serve the city.

I wish people should be paying more attention to this situation instead of gawking at skyscrapers. You can't have a working city economy without a working government willing to make pragmatic descisions, and without a working city economy, you won't get skyscrapers.
 
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The theory here is to bring in some people who acknowledge right up front that they don't know how the City operates and and are eager to be educated in the modus operandi and why it is so.

The consultants don't have a horse in this race and can make some honest judgements on the facts that they receive. This not to say that the bureaucracy is knowingly inefficient or dishonest but it may be so accustomed to certain procedures and sensitivities that they become routine.
It is not unheard of to make your job easier by making your boss happy rather than suggesting change and explaining why.

George Smitherman campaigned on personally sitting down for months with department heads and ferreting out places to save money. I think the consultant route shows more promise.
 
spider said:
It is not unheard of to make your job easier by making your boss happy rather than suggesting change and explaining why.
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A bit far-fetched, but might we also come to a chance where the gravy does not tally up to the amount that Ford wants it to be at, and the consultants fill in the gaps with a variety of "possible savings" (i.e. removing entire departments deemed "unecessary") in order to please Ford and his allies?

After all, he and his allies might say that they haven't been looking hard enough, and another consulting firm might do the job.

It might work, but a city is a complex organization, and cutting back on the wrong things can lead to massive problems. I.e. I've heard around that Lastman removed the department that coordinated construction in the city, and this might have led to the road construction woes we see today.
 
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jje1000 said:
Speaking of gravy...

http://www.thestar.com/news/torontocouncil/article/944547--city-to-spend-3-million-on-consultants

Likely signs of problems if you can't identify the gravy in your own house (which Ford should already know since he's attended all budget meetings during the Miller period, right?). It's a lose-lose situation.

You either rush the consultants (who likely don't understand how the city works in detail), and come up with a generalized list of of "cost-cutting measures" that are basically what we all know already.
Or, you could allow them to do their job and pay out the big bucks to listen to their theories.

He should be relying on the finance departments to do their job, and if they can't do it, he should fire them and hire the best to serve the city.

I wish people should be paying more attention to this situation instead of gawking at skyscrapers. You can't have a working city economy without a working government willing to make pragmatic descisions, and without a working city economy, you won't get skyscrapers.
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The last bullet in that article...

• To accept provincial funding for an anti-HIV/syphilis initiative (on a 44-1 vote with Mayor Ford in opposition).
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Why would he say no? Especially the only member of council to vote no.
 
I just saw that Star story myself and couldn't believe that last point.
 
spider said:
The theory here is to bring in some people who acknowledge right up front that they don't know how the City operates and and are eager to be educated in the modus operandi and why it is so.

The consultants don't have a horse in this race and can make some honest judgements on the facts that they receive.
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I doubt very much that the consultants Ford is considering are going to be non partisan. Let the patronage begin. My guess, they'll be card carrying members of the PC party of Ontario. Let's hope it's not Mike Harris and Ernie Eves.
 
Hiring consultants is fine, when it involves something beyond the expertise of the city government. But creating a municipal budget isn't beyond the expertise of the municipal government...in fact...IT'S THEIR JOB!. They are supposed to be the experts...and Rob Ford campaigned on the idea that he already had it figured out. Why does Rob Ford need a "gravy train consultant", when he claimed to be the expert?

"We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem".

Right...said by the man that just set the record this year for spending...and setting a new record for next year on revenue shortage ( $1 billion deficit).

Man...I thought there would at least be a honeymoon period before it all blew up in his face.
 
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toto said:
I doubt very much that the consultants Ford is considering are going to be non partisan. Let the patronage begin. My guess, they'll be card carrying members of the PC party of Ontario. Let's hope it's not Mike Harris and Ernie Eves.
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Toronto municipal budget via the Fraser Institute?
 
Mr. Ford’s was the only dissenting vote against a motion reinstating $100,000 in provincial funds for syphilis and HIV screening – a budgetary addition that won’t cost the city anything.

“Everyone says it’s provincial money,” Mr. Ford said when asked why he voted against the funds. “No. It’s taxpayers’ money. So, you know what? In the big picture, they say it doesn’t cost the city a dime. Well, it costs people money. … There’s many reasons why.”
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I love you forever, Ford.

Both Mr. Ford and budget chief Mike Del Grande pinned responsibility for the $3-million in earmarked consultant fees on city manager Joe Pennachetti, who put together the 2011 budget at the direction of the mayor’s office.

“I'm disappointed that number did get out,” Mr. Del Grande said in council. “Because this is going to tender … you just let out the amount of money that's available to be utilized.”
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Ha ha, whoops!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...-budget-has-kept-his-promises/article1920081/

To put things into perspective (which can be lost in the fray of the forums), here's the deficit as it stands:

The budget pressure for 2012 stands at $774-million. Cut the land transfer tax, which Mr. Ford said Wednesday he was still committed to do, and it would be $799-million. Don’t raise TTC fares and it would be $829-million. The 2011 pressure was $706-million, $346-million of which was offset by the entirety of the two previous year’s surpluses. We can hope for a surplus from 2011, but we can’t hope for nearly that big of a surplus.
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Also:

“The cat is out of the bag,” budget chief Mike Del Grande told reporters Wednesday. Over the next year, he said council will have to discuss the difference between things “we have to do” and “things we’d like to do, but can’t.” By the latter he meant city services, but it could just as easily apply to huge tax increases — something he refused to rule out.
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History repeats itself.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/02/23/chris-selley-the-campaign-that-never-ends/
 
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