Rob Ford's Toronto

[CanadianNational]

The Sun has reported that Ford has managed to get city councillor's lunches cancelled - for four years. This is apparently to save the city $48,000, or, $12,000 per year. The Sun seems pretty excited about it.

In a city of 2.48 million people, that works out to saving each taxpayer .0048 cents per year.

I don't think you could glimpse that amount of Gravy even with the help of an electron microscope.

 

[lafard]

The Sun has reported that Ford has managed to get city councillor's lunches cancelled - for four years. This is apparently to save the city $48,000, or, $12,000 per year. The Sun seems pretty excited about it.

Why, at this rate we should find the other $399,952,000 in budget gap our new mayor has managed to dig up in the 9 days in no time at all!

 

[GraphicMatt]

Word from Council and the Mayor today is that both a Commercial Tax Hike and increased user fees are on the table as means to balance the budget this year.

Suckers.

 

[jje1000]

On the campaign trail Ford called for commercial taxes to be set at a level below the 905. He hasn't spoken much about that since getting elected, and it would open a huge gap in the budget.

Ford isn't a fiscal conservative, he's a populist (As calls for unneeded police and subways prove). If it comes down to a choice between raising commercial or residential taxes, he's likely to pick the latter.

He didn't get much support from Toronto's business community in his run, and he raised less money than any of the major candidates, so he also doesn't owe them anything.

From Kelly Grant's twitter account, sounds like Ford is leaving the door open for a commercial/ industrial property tax increase.

http://twitter.com/kellygrant1

Oh, Glen, you should know better than to vote for a populist, but you still have time to redeem yourself! Call up Ford and give him a piece of your mind!

 

[Eug]

The Sun has reported that Ford has managed to get city councillor's lunches cancelled - for four years. This is apparently to save the city $48,000, or, $12,000 per year. The Sun seems pretty excited about it.

In a city of 2.48 million people, that works out to saving each taxpayer .0048 cents per year.

I don't think you could glimpse that amount of Gravy even with the help of an electron microscope.

I'm always flabbergasted at the argument that since one line item is relatively low cost, it doesn't matter.

Personally I think it's a good start, in that it actually gets people to think about cutting costs, instead of just saying "Oh it's not an enormous amount, so let's just spend it", an attitude which seems so common these days in City Hall.

Or, if you must spend the money, then let's redirect that $48000 to arts projects or something.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Eug:

Food might be something that is worth cutting but coffee? The gain in clarity and efficiency from the caffiene jolt might very well be worth the price. People need to think about cost-benefit, not just cost per se.

AoD

 

[GraphicMatt]

I'm always flabbergasted at the argument that since one line item is relatively low cost, it doesn't matter.

Personally I think it's a good start, in that it actually gets people to think about cutting costs, instead of just saying "Oh it's not an enormous amount, so let's just spend it", an attitude which seems so common these days in City Hall.

Try to find a private sector business where six-to-eight hour meetings of executives don't include either a provided meal or a one-hour break for lunch/dinner. This is just being petty - even Ford's allies like Holyday were arguing yesterday that the sandwiches and snacks should be maintained.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I think dinner should be provided IFF council business got extended beyond supper hours as it occasionally does. The coffee/tea/water should be gratis - like how much would it cost vs. the inconvenience of councillors leaving their post and getting it themselves (which, keep in mind, also cost money since it is time away from doing municipal business) and may even break quorum.

AoD

 

[lafard]

Most employers provide coffee. An awake worker is a productive worker.

Business tax increases? Good luck with that one. The Chambers of commerce and BIAs can afford a full frontal assault on such a proposal. Never thought you'd see the day when local business starts getting pushed to the "pinko" side.

 

[GraphicMatt]

Afternoon council meetings generally are scheduled to run from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. and tend to run over. They started providing food years ago after experimenting with a one-hour break for dinner, but found that it was difficult to get 45 people back together afterwards and that it tended to just delay things even later.

 

[Eug]

I sometimes have to buy my own coffee for meetings. Actually I prefer tea, so I bought myself a tea kettle and a bag of tea. Oh the humanity!

Truthfully though, I'm more likely to go to an optional meeting if there is food provided, but if it's a mandatory meeting as part of my job, I go whether or not there's food there, and I have no problem bringing my own lunch.

I don't really see the problem with providing coffee for meetings actually, but I just find that argument "It's a small expense so it doesn't matter" is so ingrained that it eventually gets applied to everything.

Try to find a private sector business where six-to-eight hour meetings of executives don't include either a provided meal or a one-hour break for lunch/dinner.

Sorry, but City Hall is not the private sector. And in the private sector, meetings are that long often because they need to be that long. In government bureaucracies, not so much. They're often long because of very poor time management... and wasted time talking about stupid things like backyard chickens.

BTW, I work both in the private sector and in government bureaucracies. The difference in attitude sometimes is completely astounding.

 

[syn]

Word from Council and the Mayor today is that both a Commercial Tax Hike and increased user fees are on the table as means to balance the budget this year.

Suckers.

I guess that means he's already breaking his promises.

I told a number of people that he may not raise taxes technically, but he'd probably do something like raise user fees.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

And in the private sector, meetings are that long often because they need to be that long

Actually, there are more than enough meetings in the private sector that's just as much "BS" - it has nothing to do with whether it is government or the private sector but more to do with the size and nature of the organization.

AoD

 

[GraphicMatt]

Sorry, but City Hall is not the private sector. And in the private sector, meetings are that long often because they need to be that long. In government bureaucracies, not so much. They're often long because of very poor time management... and wasted time talking about stupid things like backyard chickens.

BTW, I work both in the private sector and in government bureaucracies. The difference in attitude sometimes is completely astounding.

So do I, and I find it varies a lot depending on who's managing the meeting or the related projects.

I don't find council meetings generally a waste of time - stupid sometimes, yes, but necessary in terms of keeping things public and accountable. Where there is a lot of waste, I'd bet, is with city staff holding all-day planning meetings. Some middle managers are literally addicted to meetings and it has to stop - that's where I'd focus my efforts if I was out to stop gravy trains.

 

[Tewder]

Ugh, this attitude of poverty is being entirely over played... and this is just the start folks. Most people want responsible stewardship and somebody to curb 'political' spending but stopping coffee? Really?? What's next, low-flow toilets? switching to candle light?