Councillors find $650K to expand offices despite outcry over cuts

Torontosun.com
June 10, 2019
Sue-Ann Levy

While complaining incessantly that provincial cuts to the city this year would cause some people to die and cancel nutritious breakfasts for little kids, Toronto’s city councillors were busy helping themselves to a $650,000 special fund to expand their City Hall offices, the Toronto Sun has learned.

That capital money, which came from a fund called Council Transition Requirements, has been used to either move councillors or reconfigure two adjacent office suites for each of the 25 councillors, says city spokesman Brad Ross.

He said additional space has been allocated to councillors who did not have a double suite already and where necessary a doorway was cut between the two suites by City Hall carpentry staff.

A total of 21 councillors have renovated or intend to refurbish their offices by September.

Ross said the remaining four had either double offices already (Michael Thompson and Josh Matlow) or only required an existing door to be removed (Cynthia Lai and Mike Colle).

The $650,000 budget includes construction, materials, engineering services, furniture, moving and project management costs, he said.

Sources say councillors Joe Cressy, Kristyn Wong-Tam, Mike Layton and Paula Fletcher have already refurbished their offices and boxes from new furniture and computer equipment have been spotted piled up in the second-floor hallway in recent weeks.

Councillor Joe Cressy

Cressy, chairman of the Toronto Board of Health, repeatedly stated in news conferences and on TV that lives would be lost if what were characterized as $65 million in provincial cuts were made to public health programs this year.

During a council meeting in May, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health Eileen De Villa evaded questions as to which of these programs are mandatory.

It took several days to get comprehensive answers from Ross, including the actual budget.

Six councillors contacted Friday morning (Cressy, Wong-Tam, Jim Karygiannis, Brad Bradford, Shelley Carroll, Gord Perks) for more detail on what was or will be done to their offices did not respond, except for Carroll’s communications and policy advisor Ani Dergalstanian, who advised me to contact Ross for more details.

Councillor Shelley Carroll

It seems a whole city team is involved in the project management efforts.

For example, Ross said a councillor’s furniture assets are assessed by the city’s facilities management staff in consultation with the city’s ergonomist and space planning teams in order to meet staffing requirements and for compliance with health and safety laws.

If surplus assets can’t be located to meet a councillor’s requirements, the City Clerk’s office works with facilities management and the councillor on the purchase of new furniture.

Ross said furniture is typically replaced after it is 20 years old or when it does not meet health and safety requirements.

Asked about new computers, Ross said they are bought for councillors and their staff only after all existing assets are in use.

“Computers are replaced in accordance with the city’s IT sustainment policy,” he said.

In their first act as a new constituted council in December 2018, councillors voted to double their office salary budgets to $482,000 and to hike their expense accounts to $50,000. Many have subsequently stacked their offices with an army of eight minions, led by a Chief of Staff.

At May’s council meeting, councillors spent four hours wringing their hands over a 16-page report by City Manager Chris Murray outlining some $177 million in provincial cuts and other injustices to come for the city of Toronto.

When Ontario Premier Doug Ford decided to reverse the $177 million in cuts on May 27, Wong-Tam tweeted that Ford should not be applauded because he never got a mandate to “gut public services” -- completely ignoring the fact that his election platform was to decrease the cost and size of government.