Why the budget for the Toronto mayor’s office will jump by 37 per cent this year

With the increase included in the 2023 figures, the budget for John Tory’s office will amount to $2.9 million.

Thestar.com
Jan. 12, 2023
Alyshah Hasham

City funding for Toronto’s paramedics will increase by seven per cent in 2023, the highest for any front-line service, out of a budget working with a “limited pool” of resources and “difficult choices,” Mayor John Tory announced last week.

He failed to mention that the most striking raise revealed in the budget would be for his own office -- a 37 per cent increase or $800,000.

In a statement Tory’s spokesperson said this increase marks the first “real change” in eight years, and is made in part due to increased responsibilities under the strong mayor powers.

“The mayor has much larger role to play in the budget process and in the hiring and changing of senior city officials,” the spokesperson said, adding that the $2.9-million amount is less than the inflation-adjusted mayoral budget in 2009 and significantly less than Chicago or Boston. Ottawa’s mayor had a budget of $1.3 million in 2022.

These resources have been requested by Tory’s office in light of negotiations with the federal government and province over the need to replace development charges lost from Bill 23 and the impacts of COVID-19, as well as an alternative way to fund cities, said Heather Taylor, the city’s chief financial officer on Tuesday.

The amount includes an estimated 6.7 per cent raise for Tory based on the Consumer Price Index coming to about $13,000, which his office says he will be donating back to the city. This increase takes place yearly and will be adjusted based on the actual index for 2022 when it is released by Statistics Canada.

The proposed total salary and benefits budget for city councillors and staff will get the same automatic 6.7 per cent raise, amounting to about $8,000 more each, as well as increased staff budgets.

City councillors, who saw their workloads drastically increased with the halving of city council by the province in 2018, froze their salaries in 2021 and saw a $2,800 increase in 2022 with the inflation adjustment.

The Star reached out to several councillors for comment. Some expressed surprise about the size of the salary hike but did not speak on the record about it or the 37 per cent increase in the budget for the mayor’s office.

The 6.7 per cent raise does not apply to other city staff. CUPE Local 79 members, who make up about 20,000 city workers, will see an increase of 1.50 per cent in January, and police officers 1.75 per cent -- part of previously negotiated contracts that include a total of 6.75 per cent and 11 per cent over a five-year period.

“Inflation continues to have real impacts to workers’ incomes, and employers need to make adjustments in order to attract and retain talent,” said Local 79 President Casey Barnett.

“It’s no surprise to see the Mayor and Councillors contemplate increasing their own wages, but they must do the same for City workers, whose scheduled increases are well below the rate of inflation and tantamount to large wage cuts.”