ITcomputer
Active Member
ohn Spears
Donovan Vincent
Paul Moloney
Tuesday marks the first anniversary of the resounding election victory that gave David Miller his second term as mayor.
During the 2006 campaign, Miller’s critics charged that his first term was lacklustre, devoid of major policy directions or accomplishments, and that he didn’t deserve a second shot. When it comes to politics, that’s the nature of the beast.
Miller set out to prove them wrong, blazing the trail for a host of new ideas: a user-pay system for garbage pickup; an ambitious blueprint to fight climate change; Transit City, a huge streetcar network.
But the months-long battle over new taxes and the need to contain costs, both stemming from a looming budget shortfall, brought city hall to a virtual standstill over the summer.
Miller hasn’t announced any major new initiatives since the land transfer tax and vehicle registration fee were passed in October.
Miller’s handlers say the mayor’s office is compiling a year-end assessment of promises made and what’s been accomplished.
In the meantime, the Star selected some key issues to create its own progress checklist.
ECONOMY - business's best friend or barking up the wrong tree
David Miller's relationship with Toronto's business community has ranged from coolly correct to downright hostile.
Miller's new land transfer tax provoked warfare with the city's real estate agents, and only reluctant acceptance from the Toronto Board of Trade.
The mayor complains he hasn't been given due credit for plans to gradually shift some of the tax burden from businesses to homeowners over the next decade, with even better breaks for small business. New industrial and non-retail commercial developments will also get tax breaks for five years.
Unfortunately for Miller, the small-business tax package came before council at the same time as the land transfer tax. In the furor, it went almost unnoticed even by those who will most benefit.
The long-term goal of easing business property taxes so they're better aligned with rates in neighbouring cities depends on the city getting revenue now controlled by the federal and provincial governments. Miller has campaigned hard for this, but so far unsuccessfully.
His approach to economic development leans on urban theorist Richard Florida's concept that prosperity flows to liveable, diverse cities attractive to the "creative class."
That's made Miller popular with people in the arts community, many of whom turned out to oppose the real estate lobby's push to defeat the new taxes.
But traditional economic development work has had a much lower profile, and that's raised some eyebrows at city hall. The economic development department has had no general manager since June, for example, and the city has failed to even name an interim general manager.
From John Spears
LEADERSHIP - Power to spare but it's a jungle out there
Getting a new City of Toronto Act matching the city's powers to its responsibilities was one of Mayor David Miller's primary objectives.
The act became law Jan. 1, and in his inaugural address Miller said he hoped it would transform council's proceedings. "This is a special time in Toronto's history," he said.
The act "confers new opportunities, new powers to this council, but also new responsibilities. And we need to rise to the challenge, to ensure that this chamber becomes a place of enlightened policy debate, befitting the city's new status."
Two months after those words, a group portrait was scrapped because councillors squabbled over the seating plan. And the first time the new act came into play – when Miller used it to propose new taxes – it provoked outright warfare.
Egged on by frantic lobbying from real estate agents, right-wing councillors delayed Miller's attempt to pass the taxes in June, then came within a hair of defeating them.
The delay led Miller to enact "cost containment" measures, such as closing libraries on Sundays. Embarrassingly, that had to be undone because it broke a union contract.
After sulking in their tents for months, the opposition came out of the fight with new energy.
Externally, Miller's leadership image is brighter. Last June, he got the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to join his campaign for a share of the GST. But it's at home that he will be most critically judged.
"My hope is that with this new structure will come a new, more thoughtful and higher level of debate," Miller said a year ago. "This is the chance to reform the way we treat each other and the way others perceive us. I have confidence that this council will be up to that challenge."
Have he and council met that standard? Voters will be the judge.
From John Spears
ENVIRONMENT - Fast out of the gate, a little lame on the turn
Bold promises on a broad front, and action in much more limited areas, have marked Mayor David Miller's performance on the environment.
In his inaugural address, Miller promised Toronto would be a "green leader"; months later, that morphed into the more ambitious goal of making the city the greenest in North America.
Measured by words alone, Miller got off to a good start. The often fractious council unanimously approved his climate change plan in June. But the hard work lies in the future. The plan commits to a 6 per cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2012, with a 30 per cent cut by far-off 2020.
On immediate issues – such as whether to ban the two-stroke engines powering lawn mowers and leaf blowers – councillors asked for more reports. The plan is also short on specifics about road tolls, another politically sensitive topic.
On the crucial but unglamorous problem of garbage, Miller's record is much more active.
The city closed a deal to purchase the Green Lane dump, giving the city landfill capacity to 2030 and curing a headache that had bedevilled Toronto for half a generation.
Miller also backed moving garbage collection to a user-fee system. Households will be billed three times a year, according to the size of the garbage bin they use.
Critics question whether the startup costs could be better spent. The jury's still out on whether the new system will speed progress toward Miller's goal of diverting 70 per cent of waste by 2010.
Miller has also supported Toronto Water's request for sharply higher water rates – 9 per cent a year throughout his term – to renew aging pipes and conserve water.
From John Spears
TRANSIT - Slow and steady as she goes
While not much seems to be happening on the ground, Mayor David Miller's transit priorities are moving forward. Miller says streetcars and buses must run in their own dedicated lanes to have any hope of being as speedy and reliable as the subway. Some of his key projects, and their current status:
Dedicated busway on Yonge St. from Finch Ave. to Steeles Ave.
Would clear the way for the 160 buses an hour pulling in and out of Finch subway. Construction would start in 2009. The province wants to extend the subway farther north.
Dedicated streetcar route on Kingston Rd. from Victoria Park Ave. to Eglinton Ave.
Environmental assessment underway. Three public meetings have been held so far, where citizens were supportive – unlike the highly controversial St. Clair Ave. streetcar line. One reason: suburban roads are 6 metres wider than St. Clair, making it easier to accommodate pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders and motorists.
York University BRT
Would improve reliability of bus service from Downsview station to the university. Construction could start in spring and finish by late 2009 – useful until a planned subway extension is completed.
Dedicated streetcar service, eastern waterfront. Environmental assessments nearing completion. Would provide service along Queens Quay from Bay St. to Cherry St. and be running by 2013.
Rapid transit on Don Mills Rd. from Steeles to city centre.
TTC and city staff are reassessing whether this should stay a priority.
From Paul Moloney
COMMUNITY - Lots of ruminating but can he milk it?
When David Miller took office last November he made housing a priority for this term, promising to "create'' 1,000 affordable units in each of his next four years.
The goal is a liveable city, not just for the well-heeled but also those in lower income brackets. Making decent housing accessible to all is the cornerstone of community, he says.
With nearly 65,000 Toronto households on a waiting list for affordable housing – a wait that, depending on size required, could be up to 12 years – Miller's target has the support of housing advocates.
But what does "create'' mean?
City hall housing officials say about 1,200 units have been approved this year. But with delays on elements such as planning approval, architectural drawings and the like, most are two to three years from being completed.
The other hitch is that the major cash comes from senior levels of government, primarily Ottawa. The city's contribution is typically indirect – property tax exemptions, waived development fees, etc.
The city's affordable housing office this week unveiled a draft 10-year housing strategy calling for $469 million a year for affordable housing with a wide focus that includes "key workers" in blue-collar and retail jobs for whom buying a home is a stretch in Toronto.
But again, the plan depends on senior governments, business and non-profits for most of the money.
Tom Clement, executive director of Cooperative Housing Federation of Toronto, says Miller can call for more affordable housing all he wants, but the upper tiers of government have to be on board fully.
Clement utters an oft-repeated call for a federal housing strategy.
"What happened to the idea of housing as a right? That idea seems to have been lost,'' Clement says.
From Donovan Vincent
Donovan Vincent
Paul Moloney
Tuesday marks the first anniversary of the resounding election victory that gave David Miller his second term as mayor.
During the 2006 campaign, Miller’s critics charged that his first term was lacklustre, devoid of major policy directions or accomplishments, and that he didn’t deserve a second shot. When it comes to politics, that’s the nature of the beast.
Miller set out to prove them wrong, blazing the trail for a host of new ideas: a user-pay system for garbage pickup; an ambitious blueprint to fight climate change; Transit City, a huge streetcar network.
But the months-long battle over new taxes and the need to contain costs, both stemming from a looming budget shortfall, brought city hall to a virtual standstill over the summer.
Miller hasn’t announced any major new initiatives since the land transfer tax and vehicle registration fee were passed in October.
Miller’s handlers say the mayor’s office is compiling a year-end assessment of promises made and what’s been accomplished.
In the meantime, the Star selected some key issues to create its own progress checklist.
ECONOMY - business's best friend or barking up the wrong tree
David Miller's relationship with Toronto's business community has ranged from coolly correct to downright hostile.
Miller's new land transfer tax provoked warfare with the city's real estate agents, and only reluctant acceptance from the Toronto Board of Trade.
The mayor complains he hasn't been given due credit for plans to gradually shift some of the tax burden from businesses to homeowners over the next decade, with even better breaks for small business. New industrial and non-retail commercial developments will also get tax breaks for five years.
Unfortunately for Miller, the small-business tax package came before council at the same time as the land transfer tax. In the furor, it went almost unnoticed even by those who will most benefit.
The long-term goal of easing business property taxes so they're better aligned with rates in neighbouring cities depends on the city getting revenue now controlled by the federal and provincial governments. Miller has campaigned hard for this, but so far unsuccessfully.
His approach to economic development leans on urban theorist Richard Florida's concept that prosperity flows to liveable, diverse cities attractive to the "creative class."
That's made Miller popular with people in the arts community, many of whom turned out to oppose the real estate lobby's push to defeat the new taxes.
But traditional economic development work has had a much lower profile, and that's raised some eyebrows at city hall. The economic development department has had no general manager since June, for example, and the city has failed to even name an interim general manager.
From John Spears
LEADERSHIP - Power to spare but it's a jungle out there
Getting a new City of Toronto Act matching the city's powers to its responsibilities was one of Mayor David Miller's primary objectives.
The act became law Jan. 1, and in his inaugural address Miller said he hoped it would transform council's proceedings. "This is a special time in Toronto's history," he said.
The act "confers new opportunities, new powers to this council, but also new responsibilities. And we need to rise to the challenge, to ensure that this chamber becomes a place of enlightened policy debate, befitting the city's new status."
Two months after those words, a group portrait was scrapped because councillors squabbled over the seating plan. And the first time the new act came into play – when Miller used it to propose new taxes – it provoked outright warfare.
Egged on by frantic lobbying from real estate agents, right-wing councillors delayed Miller's attempt to pass the taxes in June, then came within a hair of defeating them.
The delay led Miller to enact "cost containment" measures, such as closing libraries on Sundays. Embarrassingly, that had to be undone because it broke a union contract.
After sulking in their tents for months, the opposition came out of the fight with new energy.
Externally, Miller's leadership image is brighter. Last June, he got the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to join his campaign for a share of the GST. But it's at home that he will be most critically judged.
"My hope is that with this new structure will come a new, more thoughtful and higher level of debate," Miller said a year ago. "This is the chance to reform the way we treat each other and the way others perceive us. I have confidence that this council will be up to that challenge."
Have he and council met that standard? Voters will be the judge.
From John Spears
ENVIRONMENT - Fast out of the gate, a little lame on the turn
Bold promises on a broad front, and action in much more limited areas, have marked Mayor David Miller's performance on the environment.
In his inaugural address, Miller promised Toronto would be a "green leader"; months later, that morphed into the more ambitious goal of making the city the greenest in North America.
Measured by words alone, Miller got off to a good start. The often fractious council unanimously approved his climate change plan in June. But the hard work lies in the future. The plan commits to a 6 per cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2012, with a 30 per cent cut by far-off 2020.
On immediate issues – such as whether to ban the two-stroke engines powering lawn mowers and leaf blowers – councillors asked for more reports. The plan is also short on specifics about road tolls, another politically sensitive topic.
On the crucial but unglamorous problem of garbage, Miller's record is much more active.
The city closed a deal to purchase the Green Lane dump, giving the city landfill capacity to 2030 and curing a headache that had bedevilled Toronto for half a generation.
Miller also backed moving garbage collection to a user-fee system. Households will be billed three times a year, according to the size of the garbage bin they use.
Critics question whether the startup costs could be better spent. The jury's still out on whether the new system will speed progress toward Miller's goal of diverting 70 per cent of waste by 2010.
Miller has also supported Toronto Water's request for sharply higher water rates – 9 per cent a year throughout his term – to renew aging pipes and conserve water.
From John Spears
TRANSIT - Slow and steady as she goes
While not much seems to be happening on the ground, Mayor David Miller's transit priorities are moving forward. Miller says streetcars and buses must run in their own dedicated lanes to have any hope of being as speedy and reliable as the subway. Some of his key projects, and their current status:
Dedicated busway on Yonge St. from Finch Ave. to Steeles Ave.
Would clear the way for the 160 buses an hour pulling in and out of Finch subway. Construction would start in 2009. The province wants to extend the subway farther north.
Dedicated streetcar route on Kingston Rd. from Victoria Park Ave. to Eglinton Ave.
Environmental assessment underway. Three public meetings have been held so far, where citizens were supportive – unlike the highly controversial St. Clair Ave. streetcar line. One reason: suburban roads are 6 metres wider than St. Clair, making it easier to accommodate pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders and motorists.
York University BRT
Would improve reliability of bus service from Downsview station to the university. Construction could start in spring and finish by late 2009 – useful until a planned subway extension is completed.
Dedicated streetcar service, eastern waterfront. Environmental assessments nearing completion. Would provide service along Queens Quay from Bay St. to Cherry St. and be running by 2013.
Rapid transit on Don Mills Rd. from Steeles to city centre.
TTC and city staff are reassessing whether this should stay a priority.
From Paul Moloney
COMMUNITY - Lots of ruminating but can he milk it?
When David Miller took office last November he made housing a priority for this term, promising to "create'' 1,000 affordable units in each of his next four years.
The goal is a liveable city, not just for the well-heeled but also those in lower income brackets. Making decent housing accessible to all is the cornerstone of community, he says.
With nearly 65,000 Toronto households on a waiting list for affordable housing – a wait that, depending on size required, could be up to 12 years – Miller's target has the support of housing advocates.
But what does "create'' mean?
City hall housing officials say about 1,200 units have been approved this year. But with delays on elements such as planning approval, architectural drawings and the like, most are two to three years from being completed.
The other hitch is that the major cash comes from senior levels of government, primarily Ottawa. The city's contribution is typically indirect – property tax exemptions, waived development fees, etc.
The city's affordable housing office this week unveiled a draft 10-year housing strategy calling for $469 million a year for affordable housing with a wide focus that includes "key workers" in blue-collar and retail jobs for whom buying a home is a stretch in Toronto.
But again, the plan depends on senior governments, business and non-profits for most of the money.
Tom Clement, executive director of Cooperative Housing Federation of Toronto, says Miller can call for more affordable housing all he wants, but the upper tiers of government have to be on board fully.
Clement utters an oft-repeated call for a federal housing strategy.
"What happened to the idea of housing as a right? That idea seems to have been lost,'' Clement says.
From Donovan Vincent