Toronto Mayor John Tory wants parts of budget frozen, others boosted

Tory's letter to the budget chief suggests a spending freeze on supplies and travel, while spending more on transit, paramedics and poverty reduction.

Thestar.com
Dec. 14, 2015
By David Rider

Mayor John Tory wants to pinch pennies on city supplies and travel, while spending more on transit, poverty reduction and paramedics.

In a letter to budget chief Councillor Gary Crawford, released Monday ahead of Tuesday’s 2016 budget launch, Toronto’s mayor said he wants city council to keep property tax hikes “in line with inflation.”
“Some will say that large, year-over-year tax increases is the easiest way to pay for the increased cost of providing services to our citizens. I reject that,” Tory wrote.

He urged targeted expenditure restraint, after his plea for departments to voluntarily find 2-per-cent spending cuts was heeded by some and ignored by many others, including police and the TTC, both seeking increases.

The mayor suggests, with no figures given, targets for a freeze: materials and supply; travel; conferences and seminars; business meetings and entertainment expenses; office renovations; professional and technical fees; and non-essential training.

Tory also offered potential targets for spending hikes: transit, poverty reduction, and hiring more paramedics “to care for our residents in times of distress.”

Councillor Gord Perks, Tory’s main budget critic on council, dismissed the mayor’s belt-tightening suggestions as “pennies on the dollar compared to what we need.”

“Overwhelmingly, the budget pressures are on front-line services to Torontonians,” he said. “To suggest you can close the circle by telling a city staffer they won’t get a new chair if the old one breaks ... just doesn’t add up.”

Nor does Tory’s pledge to keep taxes in line with inflation - currently about 1.3 per cent, according to the city manager - while calling for big investments in services such as transit, said Perks.

“It’s going to be a very difficult budget and nobody knows whether to listen to Tory the service improver or Tory the tax fighter.”

On Tuesday, city manager Peter Wallace is expected to outline the city’s spending and revenue expectations for 2016, and reveal the size of the gap that city council will try to fill.

Budget deliberations, including public deputations, will culminate in a final city council vote in February.