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Pan Am Games costing you plenty

torontosun.com
Feb. 1, 2015
By Sue-Ann Levy

The budget presentation came late in the afternoon and the natives were indeed restless.

The city’s director of strategic planning and implementation for the 2015 Pan Am Games, Tobias Novogrodsky, gave a thorough rundown last Thursday to the budget committee of the capital and operating impact of the games on Toronto - costs which are hardly chump change.

Seeing as all of the $92.8-million in operating expenses needed to plan, provide services and host parties and events during this summer’s games are buried in the individual budgets of the nine city departments and agencies involved, I thought councillors would want to hear who is doing what.

I was especially surprised that budget committee chairman Gary Crawford kept pushing Novogrodsky to hurry along with his presentation, considering that when I asked Crawford a few hours earlier how the $92.8-million broke down, he didn’t seem to know.

“What, me worry,” seemed to be largely the attitude among the politicians and bureaucrats in the room. After all, the province was covering the lion’s share of the nearly $200-million in capital and operating expenditures presented to the budget committee - and that meant it was free money, didn’t it?

I hated to inform them that there is only one taxpayer and whether the free spenders chose to get it, or not, it was all coming out of the same pocket.

As we saw with the city’s capital commitment for the games, in two years it doubled from the original funding contribution in the 2009 Multi-Party Agreement of $49.5-million for six projects to $95.5-million for 10 projects. Of that, nearly $70-million has been debt-financed.

On the operating side, the parks, forestry and recreation budget documents show that $1.9-million has been set aside for 41 new positions to maintain and provide rec programming at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre in partnership with U of T Scarborough where the facility is located. That is following the games.

In the next few months - in the run-up to the games - some $2.2-million will be spent on planning and preparation by the various city departments, none of which is eligible for reimbursement by the province, Novogrodsky noted. That does not include the $2.1-million on planning Toronto Police which spokesman Mark Pugash told me had already been spent by their department last year.

They will no doubt argue otherwise but it strikes me much of that intense planning by various city departments is all about taking advantage of the 23-day Pan Am and Parapan Games whatever way possible to push through pet projects, beef up resources and collect enough overtime to put staffers into the $100,000 club, or well beyond, this year.

Let’s start with the lighting of the Luminous Veil project, which was discussed at executive committee on Jan. 22. This was the same Luminous Veil that ended up costing taxpayers $6.5-million in 2003, when not one penny of the $3.5-million that was supposed to come from corporate donors ever materialized.

Mike Williams, general manager of economic development, told executive committee on Jan. 22 that they decided to resuscitate the lighting aspect at a cost of an additional $2.8 million when they started putting together legacy projects for the Pan Am Games - that the Luminous Veil was the “most significant capital work” the city has done that is not a road and “lighting is a very important artistic expression.”

“(The lighting) will transform one of the city’s greatest public works projects of the 21st century into the greatest public art project of the 21st century,” added Novogrodsky.

Williams assured the committee the Luminous Veil - with lights - will be become a “very photographed item” and it was high time we had another “iconic structure” to make the tourism magazines around the world.

Pul-ease. Who writes their material?

But one of the biggest make-work projects on the Pan Am (Ontario/Toronto taxpayer) dime appears to be the planning and staffing by all three emergency services - police, ambulance and fire.

Let’s start with Toronto Police Services, which have submitted a budget of $64.9-million, all covered by the province as we were reminded several times at budget committee last week (see note about One Taxpayer above).

According to a report to the Jan. 21 Police Services Board meeting, the Toronto Police Service Pan Am Games Planning team is hard at work planning for the games’ operational phase (June 24-Aug. 21) - to provide “consistent staffing at Athletes Village” and to ensure that “mobile squads” are available to respond quickly to “emerging situations.” There will also be a Traffic Team that will ensure the 63 kilometres of Games Route Network (including the 33 kilometres of HOV lanes) under the TPS jurisdiction will be patrolled for enforcement and compliance, as well as enhanced response to clear the lanes, if necessary.

Geez I can hardly wait.

The terribly vital responsibilities of EMS and Fire Services are outlined in the 2015 budget documents.

There is a Toronto Paramedic Service planning team of four (all management) costing $410,000 for nine months that are developing Incident Management Systems (how they will respond to emergency situations during the games.)

Another $1.6-million has been allocated for extra coverage (on overtime) during the actual games.

Fire Services has its own planning team of three acting captains costing $260,000 to develop “contingency plans” for venues over nine months. Two of these captains will - get this - be assigned to venues during live broadcast events to ensure a “quicker resolution” of false fire alarms.

During the actual event, Toronto Fire Services will provide $2.1-million worth of “enhanced on-site and timely decision-making expertise” in the areas of fire prevention and fire protection. All of it will be done on overtime.

Like I said, the Games will be a bonanza for the city’s emergency services personnel.

As Novogrodsky noted at budget committee, there will be some $1.6-million in enhanced services that will not be covered from Ontario’s coffers. These include $140,000 to improve horticulture beds around sport venues and gathering areas for the games; enhanced turf and general maintenance at the venues costing $400,000; more frequent subway station cleaning during the games at $265,000; and enhanced sweeping, cleaning and roadway repairs at a cost of $311,178.

Just for the games? What are Toronto residents who pay the freight? Chopped liver?

The major city expenditure, however, is $19.9-million for the Host City Showcase program, which includes $13.9-million for a dizzying array of 28 “innovative projects and initiatives” (the words of city officials, not mine) - among them a big celebration/party/cultural festival in Nathan Phillips Square.

What caught my eye, though, was the $20,000 earmarked for “Maple Leaf Forever” bracelets to be given to athletes and their families as a keepsake of Toronto.

Novogrodsky said wood will be taken from a maple tree for beads that will be made into friendship bracelets and gifted to visiting dignitaries and athletes.

City spokeswoman Wynna Brown said the final design of the bracelet is “still in development” and will be under wraps until a presentation to Team Canada athletes in the spring.

She added that the designer creating and fabricating the bracelet is working under a “confidentiality agreement.”

Toronto’s host city costs for the Pan Am Games:

CAPITAL BUDGET:

 Includes:

 
OPERATING BUDGET:

Includes: