John Tory finds himself under attack on unexpected front: on financial management … and from the left
John Tory found himself under attack on a most unexpected front Thursday: on financial management, and from the left.
The former corporate CEO — who won office by promising a business-like approach at city hall — had won early left-wing praise this week for his first budget, which spends $75-million in new money on things like transit and shelters without raising property taxes beyond the rate of inflation.
But on Thursday, several member of council’s left-wing caucus attacked where they could: On the $200-million line of credit that the provincial government offered the city in lieu of Mr. Tory’s hoped-for cash bailout.
“With Mayor Ford all the budgets brought to council were balanced. I didn’t agree with them, but they were balanced,” said Councillor Gord Perks, who called the Tory approach “risky,” and likened it to a homeowner using a line of credit to pay off a mortgage.:Eek:
“This is not a smart move … By relying on a loan instead of fixing the problem either with increased taxes or decreased services, what this means is we’re going to have to suffer through this punch every year.”
Councillor Janet Davis, another leftist, suggested an extra 3% property tax hike could fill the gap, but admitted there may not be an appetite for that at city council.
“I’m waiting to see what this plan B is. If it’s going to include cuts, or service reductions, I know that I will not be happy with that and many councillors won’t,” she said.
Mr. Tory defended the loan, and assured Torontonians they can trust his fiscal judgment.:frusty:
“I believe it is entirely financially responsible to take a relatively small, in fact a tiny portion of the budget, and end up having that as a loan for this year,” said Mr. Tory on Thursday. “It allows us to have a balanced budget
and it allows us to go ahead with these investments, which I think are urgent.”
The predicament can be traced back to a decision by the provincial Liberals to gradually pull funding that the city used for housing. In 2015, that means a loss of $86-million in a $9.9-billion budget.
Officials in both the mayor’s office and the city manager’s have been working for weeks with provincial counterparts, hoping to convince them to reinstate the funding. The argument has long been that Toronto, a large cosmopolitan city, has a concentration of issues around housing and poverty that other municipalities in the province simply do not face.
The Ontario government, never keen to be seen to favour Toronto, instead offered a line of credit, secured against property and with interest. Sources indicate that may still result in a $25-million hole this year because of interest and principal payments.
City manager Joe Pennachetti said the city has been given a provincial loan before, although he conceded the arrangement is not ideal. John Campbell, vice chair of the budget committee, called the loan “insulting” because of the city’s special needs. “Toronto is different,” agreed Mr. Tory.
From the right on Thursday, Councillor Rob Ford, meanwhile, criticized rising user fees, particularly around garbage rates. He pointed to the extra revenue collected last year from the land transfer tax as a simple way to plug the budget (although this, too, would be one-time funding which he had always argued against using as mayor).
Deputy Mayor Denzil Minnan-Wong noted what he called the “unholy alliance” between NDP stalwarts at city hall and the right-wing former mayor.
“I think the budget committee has got some real challenges ahead of it and it remains to be seen what they’re going to recommend to council,” said Mr. Minnan-Wong.
Mr. Tory said the city will “aggressively” look for the money in the budget to make up the difference.
http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/0...nt-on-financial-management-and-from-the-left/
Knew all along Toronto needs Emeritus Mayor Rob Ford to mentor the Rookie Mayor John Tory.
John Tory found himself under attack on a most unexpected front Thursday: on financial management, and from the left.
The former corporate CEO — who won office by promising a business-like approach at city hall — had won early left-wing praise this week for his first budget, which spends $75-million in new money on things like transit and shelters without raising property taxes beyond the rate of inflation.
But on Thursday, several member of council’s left-wing caucus attacked where they could: On the $200-million line of credit that the provincial government offered the city in lieu of Mr. Tory’s hoped-for cash bailout.
“With Mayor Ford all the budgets brought to council were balanced. I didn’t agree with them, but they were balanced,” said Councillor Gord Perks, who called the Tory approach “risky,” and likened it to a homeowner using a line of credit to pay off a mortgage.:Eek:
“This is not a smart move … By relying on a loan instead of fixing the problem either with increased taxes or decreased services, what this means is we’re going to have to suffer through this punch every year.”
Councillor Janet Davis, another leftist, suggested an extra 3% property tax hike could fill the gap, but admitted there may not be an appetite for that at city council.
“I’m waiting to see what this plan B is. If it’s going to include cuts, or service reductions, I know that I will not be happy with that and many councillors won’t,” she said.
Mr. Tory defended the loan, and assured Torontonians they can trust his fiscal judgment.:frusty:
“I believe it is entirely financially responsible to take a relatively small, in fact a tiny portion of the budget, and end up having that as a loan for this year,” said Mr. Tory on Thursday. “It allows us to have a balanced budget
and it allows us to go ahead with these investments, which I think are urgent.”The predicament can be traced back to a decision by the provincial Liberals to gradually pull funding that the city used for housing. In 2015, that means a loss of $86-million in a $9.9-billion budget.
Officials in both the mayor’s office and the city manager’s have been working for weeks with provincial counterparts, hoping to convince them to reinstate the funding. The argument has long been that Toronto, a large cosmopolitan city, has a concentration of issues around housing and poverty that other municipalities in the province simply do not face.
The Ontario government, never keen to be seen to favour Toronto, instead offered a line of credit, secured against property and with interest. Sources indicate that may still result in a $25-million hole this year because of interest and principal payments.
City manager Joe Pennachetti said the city has been given a provincial loan before, although he conceded the arrangement is not ideal. John Campbell, vice chair of the budget committee, called the loan “insulting” because of the city’s special needs. “Toronto is different,” agreed Mr. Tory.
From the right on Thursday, Councillor Rob Ford, meanwhile, criticized rising user fees, particularly around garbage rates. He pointed to the extra revenue collected last year from the land transfer tax as a simple way to plug the budget (although this, too, would be one-time funding which he had always argued against using as mayor).
Deputy Mayor Denzil Minnan-Wong noted what he called the “unholy alliance” between NDP stalwarts at city hall and the right-wing former mayor.
“I think the budget committee has got some real challenges ahead of it and it remains to be seen what they’re going to recommend to council,” said Mr. Minnan-Wong.
Mr. Tory said the city will “aggressively” look for the money in the budget to make up the difference.
http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/0...nt-on-financial-management-and-from-the-left/
Knew all along Toronto needs Emeritus Mayor Rob Ford to mentor the Rookie Mayor John Tory.
