Archive for 'SPT News'
December 9 – Budget Committee Begins its Wrap-up
Posted on 09. Dec, 2011 by Beth.
Budget Committee Begins its Wrap-up
Watch today’s Budget Committee meeting here
After two days of public hearings, the Budget Committee began its wrap-up process today. During the wrap-up sessions, the committee votes to receive briefing notes (reports by staff on various aspects of the budget that have been requested by Councillors and supported by the Budget Committee throughout the process), can request further briefing notes (if the Budget Committee agrees), can ask clarifying questions to staff about the briefing notes, and votes to make changes to the draft operating and capital budgets.
Motions tabled: Budget Committee votes on these motions on December 13 (these are proposed changes to the draft operating and capital budgets ):
- Introduce a $2 fee for outdoor drop-in swim programs for all ages
- Introduce a $2 fee for admission to the Riverdale Farm for every visitor (Councillor Del Grande is moving this one; Councillor Berardinetti is moving another motion to defer this motion until July 2012 – don’t consider the fee introduction now)
- Remove Thistletown Community Centre from the list of locations from which recreation programs would be eliminated (Councillor Crisanti moved this one; Thistletown is in his ward – Ward 1 North Etobicoke; he has requested a briefing note to see if it is feasible to take the money from the Waterfront Secretariat operating budget or by increasing ice rink permit fees to cover the cost)
- Don’t cut recreation programs from any of the proposed locations (Councillor Mihevc requested this motion in response to Councillor Crisanti’s motion. As a courtesy, Councillor Milczyn agreed to move his motion – which doesn’t indicate whether he’ll support the motion or not.)
- That the 2012 operating budget for the Toronto Police Service (TPS) be reduced by $4.2913 million net (Councillor Milczyn is moving this one; he wants them to make the cut from the civilian workforce or non-salary costs, resulting in a flatlined net budget, but isn’t allowed to direct the TPS as to how they make the cut)
- That the Welcome Policy implement a subsidy dollar cap per family to ensure that more families are served under the policy (Councillor Crisanti clarified that he wants a subsidy cap per person not per family. The staff recommendation previously accepted was based on family not individual. )
- Remove Sir Wilfrid Laurier pool from list of pools where City swim programs will be eliminated and take the money out of the Toronto Environment Office to cover the cost (requested by Councillor Ainslie, and moved by Councillor Milczyn)
- To prioritize the building of new splash pads in place of the five wading pools proposed for closure (if City Council decides to shutdown those wading pools)
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December 7 – Budget Committee Finishes Day 1 of 2 Public Hearings
Posted on 07. Dec, 2011 by Beth.
Budget Committee Finishes Day 1 of 2 Public Hearings
Short update after a long day…
Watch all of the action from today’s Budget Committee’s public hearings here
It was a full house at the first day of public hearings on the City’s 2012 budget. Across communities, neighbourhoods and issue areas, residents and community groups were united in sending a strong message to the Budget Committee and City Council: these cuts will hurt communities; this isn’t our vision for Toronto; other choices are possible. The committee heard deputants up to #154 on the deputation list which includes 348 speakers in total. The second and final day of public hearings starts on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. at City Hall, 100 Queen Street West, Committee Room 1, concluding at 9:30 p.m. If the committee runs out of time before it gets to the end of the list, remaining deputants will be invited to provide written comments with no opportunity to speak. Them’s the rules.
Can’t make it? Watch live or check out the video here
Toronto Star picks up Social Planning Toronto’s Mapping the Cuts map. Read the story here. We will be updating the map as new information about location-specific cuts becomes available. Watch for updates in the City Budget Watch 2012 bulletin.
The Star has also published a list of student nutrition programs at risk in the 2012 City budget.
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December 6 – Budget Committee Continues with Fire, TTC and More
Posted on 07. Dec, 2011 by Beth.
December 6 – Budget Committee Continues with Fire, TTC and More
Watch Tuesday’s Budget Committee meeting here
Today’s meeting included the review of Citizen Centred Services ‘B’ (City Planning, Waterfront Revitalization Initiative, Fire Services, Policy, Planning, Finance and Administration, Toronto Environmental Office, Municipal Licensing and Standards, Technical Services, Toronto Building and Transportation Services), Toronto Transit Commission, Toronto Zoo, Exhibition Place, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, Toronto Atmospheric Fund, Sony Centre, St. Lawrence Centre, and Toronto Centre for the Arts. All of the Citizen Centred Services ‘B’ budgets were dealt with in one go, starting with a staff presentation for this cluster. The agencies were reviewed in clusters as described below.
Highlights from Citizen Centred Services ‘B’:
- There are $39 million in cuts to the Citizen Centred Services ‘B’ budgets
- The budget includes 1.25 million savings by reducing pay duty officers for traffic control
- Councillor Vaughan mentions that the City is currently hiring from 4 graffiti abatement managers at $100,000 salary each
- Sidewalk snow clearing is being eliminated except for some provision for seniors; this affects the inner suburbs as the service is generally not provided in the downtown – a total of 6,000 km of sidewalks are currently cleared
- Mechanical leaf collection is also being eliminated affecting mostly Etobicoke residents and some Scarborough residents
- Animators positions are being eliminated who promote environmental programs
- Councillor Davis asked about what jobs are proposed for contracting out in this cluster – mostly in transportation, street sweeping, snow and ice removal, road maintenance, grass cutting, sidewalk snow clearing and dispatch, road repairs in Etobicoke
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December 6 – Mapping the Cuts
Posted on 06. Dec, 2011 by Beth.
Mapping the Cuts
As the map below reveals, the proposed cuts to the community in the 2012 City budget are disproportionately located in low income neighbourhoods, where specific sites are known. Of the 75 location-specific cuts, 42 are located in low income neighbourhoods or 56%. Forty-five percent of Toronto neighbourhoods have poverty rates above 24.5% – the poverty rate for the Toronto population.
These location-specific cuts in no way represent all of the service cuts that have been proposed. For example, TTC bus routes while location-based are not mapped and have a substantial impact on already inadequate service in the inner suburbs. Cuts to student nutrition and community grants will have city-wide and neighbourhood- and community-specific impacts that are not yet clear as particular programs slated for cuts have not been identified.
Map updated December 7, 2011. Check regularly for updates as new information becomes available.
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December 5 – Budget Committee Dispenses with Staff Presentations, Whips through Budget Reviews
Posted on 06. Dec, 2011 by Beth.
Budget Committee Dispenses with Staff Presentations, Whips through Budget Reviews
Watch Monday’s Budget Committee meeting here
Today, the Budget Committee reviewed 11 divisional budgets, 6 agency budgets, including the Toronto Public Health and Toronto Public Library budgets, and the community grants budget in the space of less than eight hours. As a result of this process, budgets did not receive the more in-depth examination that was possible in the past.
In past years, staff from each division and agency would make presentations for each individual budget, and then Councillors would have an opportunity to question staff on each respective budget. This year, the Budget Committee elected to dispense with full presentations from staff, encouraging staff to provide only brief highlights.
As well, budgets were reviewed in clusters. For example, the committee reviewed all 11 ‘citizen centred services A’ budgets, the Association of Community Centres (AOCC) budget and the Community Partnership and Investment Program (CPIP; community grants) budget as one group. After Deputy City Manager Brenda Patterson made brief remarks about this cluster of budgets, City Councillors took part in three rounds of questions to staff to cover all 13 individual budgets. In my experience, this is a significant departure from past practice where time is allocated to investigate each individual budget.
Although the AOCC and CPIP budgets were supposed to be included in this cluster, staff made no comments regarding these programs and Councillors asked no questions relating to these programs. By afternoon, it became clear that many Councillors did not realize that the AOCC and CPIP budgets had been reviewed in the morning. The committee did elect to include discussion of these two budgets in the afternoon.
Cluster 1: Affordable Housing Office, Children’s Services, Court Services, Economic Development and Culture, Emergency Medical Services, Long Term Care Homes Services, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, Toronto Employment and Social Services, 311 Toronto, Community Partnership and Investment Program, and Association of Community Centres
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