Rob Ford's Toronto

[Thanos]

From what i've heard a majority of the people that will be bought out are nearing retirement, in other words 1-5 years away. Can anyone confirm this? If that is the case, than i don't see it as a huge problem, however the number is still too high.
Is there anything that can be done to stop him (ie: impeachment or that sort)?

 

[nfitz]

From what i've heard a majority of the people that will be bought out are nearing retirement, in other words 1-5 years away. Can anyone confirm this? If that is the case, than i don't see it as a huge problem, however the number is still too high.
Is there anything that can be done to stop him (ie: impeachment or that sort)?

Presumably most employees aren't going to take an offer that gives up so much, for 6 months paid vacation.

Doesn't seem like a terrible move to me. Pretty standard way of getting rid of those who already have one foot out the door.

Still, given how chronically understaffed some city departments, and Rob Ford's promise not to cut services, it is hard to see how they aren't going to have to hire a lot of replacements ... but they would be cheaper I suppose.

 

[Marcanadian]

What ever happened with the audit on his campaign finances? I'm not sure if that's coming to fruition soon or not.

 

[MisterF]

Not me. Had Miller run and won, I'd still be paying his motor vehicle registration tax, my property taxes would have likely increased and you can forget about outsourcing garbage pick-up.

On the other hand, would Miller have given the TPS their largest increase in history? I'm not sure.

Nobody likes new taxes, but with the vehicle registration tax the city was finally on sound financial footing, or closer to it anyway. Just like Harper's GST cut, it seems Ford has manufactured a totally unnecessary financial crisis.

 

[adma]

Somewhere, David Miller is quietly chuckling to himself and thinking "I told you so."

And somewhere, the city's conservative political "fixers" are asking themselves: "Why didn't Doug Ford run for Council and win in 2000 rather than Rob Ford?"

 

[tkip]

It's unfortunate we didn't have a mayor like Miller who had the backbone to fight the unions, rather than one like Ford, who caves. He's also avoided fighting the TTC, as the new legislation he's asked for, forces everything to arbitration. That's a huge victory for the union, if they want to maintain current benefits.

Either I'm confused or this quote doesn't make sense. Wasn't it Miller who was very pro union and caved in to the unions? Especially during the garbage strike. When and where did Ford cave in to the unions? Ford hates unions and organized labour. He's also starting the outsourcing process beginning with garbage. And I'm a union person.

 

[SlickFranky]

Either I'm confused or this quote doesn't make sense. Wasn't it Miller who was very pro union and caved in to the unions? Especially during the garbage strike. When and where did Ford cave in to the unions? Ford hates unions and organized labour. He's also starting the outsourcing process beginning with garbage. And I'm a union person.

You're reciting rhetoric. He's outlining facts that indicate the opposite. It's a half-joking jab at public perception vs. actual policy/behaviour.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Nobody likes new taxes, but with the vehicle registration tax the city was finally on sound financial footing, or closer to it anyway.

Nope. It would have only been a matter of time before spending was increased to cancel out any increases in revenue.

Just like Harper's GST cut, it seems Ford has manufactured a totally unnecessary financial crisis.

It's called Starve the Beast - meaning if you want to reduce the size of government you must first reduce its ability to fund itself.

 

[Silence&Motion]

It's called Starve the Beast - meaning if you want to reduce the size of government you must first reduce its ability to fund itself.

Judging by what's going on in the US Congress these days, I don't think Republican Party policies should be let anywhere near Toronto city hall. Starve the beast is the worst kind of ideological, slogan-driven policy that focuses solely on one issue (taxes) to the exclusion of all other issues. Starve the beast advocates just see "government" in general as some kind of black hole that needs to be closed up, rather than taking the time to look at the specific functions of government and entertaining the thought "hey, maybe some of these programs we're running are actually useful. Maybe the size of government is adequate for maintaining our current quality of life".

People always think "government" needs to be cut back in the abstract, but they never want any particular programs cut. Hopefully if anything good comes from this consulting report, it will be that we finally see the true anatomy of this "beast" and discover that we do actually want to keep it well funded.

 

[Armbruster]

KPMG says most Economic Development & Culture services are delivered below standard

According to KPMG's Economic Development and Culture service review study, over three-quarters of the City's EDC services are delivered at a standard lower than what prevails in other municipalities. Twenty-four percent is delivered at standard.

Just as with Public Works, there is no gravy to be found at Economic Development and Culture. Ford's gravy goggles are batting 0 for 2.

The Community Development and Recreation report is up today.

 

[cdr108]

According to KPMG's Economic Development and Culture service review study, over three-quarters of the City's EDC services are delivered at a standard lower than what prevails in other municipalities. Twenty-four percent is delivered at standard.

Just as with Public Works, there is no gravy to be found at Economic Development and Culture. Ford's gravy goggles are batting 0 for 2.

The Community Development and Recreation report is up today.

i'm beginning to think Ford misspoke as usual and gravy train was a reference to his dinner plate

 

[Admiral Beez]

Judging by what's going on in the US Congress these days, I don't think Republican Party policies should be let anywhere near Toronto city hall.

It's not a Republican thing, it's a mindset thing. In the USA per capita spending by all levels of government combined have massively increased since the 1950s. This includes massive spending increases by Republican governments at both the State and Federal level. Under GWB's government government spending skyrocketed, especially on Medicare and the military.

Toronto has enough revenue to run a good city. What it has is too much spending. Why does a municipality pay for seniors homes and daycare for goodness sake? Surely that's the responsibility of higher levels of government. The City should give an ultimatum to the province that as of Jan 1st they will no longer be paying for homeless shelters - they should have refused when Harris downloaded it.

Keep to emergency services (with reduced police budget), infrastructure, garbage and sanitation (privatized where possible), libraries and recreation (pools, splash pads, etc), utilities, public transit, permits and by-law enforcement. I don't need my city spending tax dollars on tourism (if the restaurants and hotels want the tourism revenue, let them pay for the promotional ads), parades, and other services.

 

[jn_12]

I don't need my city spending tax dollars on tourism (if the restaurants and hotels want the tourism revenue, let them pay for the promotional ads)

Well, it's not. The city doesn't pay a cent. You might want to check out page 22 http://www.seetorontonow.com/getatt...4dd1-9f7d-af9c7648ec54/AR2010_lowres.pdf.aspx
And actually, the city makes around $4million/year in municipal taxes from tourism in Toronto, and receives additional benefits from the $1billion that enters the provincial and federal coffers annually. Pretty sure those numbers don't even account for multiplier effects, which add even more revenue for the government. But of course, all you see is the spending aspect, not the return on investment.

 

[Danielinthecity]

How?

The City should give an ultimatum to the province that as of Jan 1st they will no longer be paying for homeless shelters - they should have refused when Harris downloaded it.

Not that I disagree with you on this point, but I'm curious as to exactly how you propose that they refuse(d)? And in the same vein, given that the City's share of public transit funding is WAY more than most other cities pay - and that this too was a result of downloading, should we also refuse to pay for that too?

What do you think those on the right would do if the City actually did these things? My bet is they'd do as they've already done, which is 'spin' the issue as bad/mis management of big ol bad Toronto.

...and most would (as Ford's recent victory) likely buy that crap arguement! Unfortunately...

 

[syn]

It's not a Republican thing, it's a mindset thing. In the USA per capita spending by all levels of government combined have massively increased since the 1950s. This includes massive spending increases by Republican governments at both the State and Federal level. Under GWB's government government spending skyrocketed, especially on Medicare and the military.

Toronto has enough revenue to run a good city. What it has is too much spending. Why does a municipality pay for seniors homes and daycare for goodness sake? Surely that's the responsibility of higher levels of government. The City should give an ultimatum to the province that as of Jan 1st they will no longer be paying for homeless shelters - they should have refused when Harris downloaded it.

Keep to emergency services (with reduced police budget), infrastructure, garbage and sanitation (privatized where possible), libraries and recreation (pools, splash pads, etc), utilities, public transit, permits and by-law enforcement. I don't need my city spending tax dollars on tourism (if the restaurants and hotels want the tourism revenue, let them pay for the promotional ads), parades, and other services.

This sounds good in theory, but how effective would this approach really be?

I don't mind paying for tourism and providing some money to festivals as they're excellent investments for the city. Relying on hotels to come up with a comprehensive tourism campaign for the city is a receipe for disaster.