And you will have a chance to speak your mind about the city budget but you better get there early because you can expect a long lineup of social in-activists, environuts, etc. wanting a guarantee that their place at the trough will be guaranteed....
.....but the reality is the deal has already been struck and the coming rhetoric is just smoke and mirrors.
City budget to be unveiled
March 26, 2007
Jim Byers
city hall bureau chief
As it prepares to unveil its proposed operating budget today, there's no doubt Toronto council is facing a financial crack. The question is whether it's a pothole or a deep and menacing crater.
Some city politicians were counting on help in last Thursday's provincial budget but didn't get it. And they say that will make it that much harder to bring in what's become the standard 3 per cent tax hike late next month, when the final budget vote is electronically tallied at City Hall.
Councillor Brian Ashton (Ward 36, Scarborough Southwest) is a member of council's executive committee. But even he says he doesn't know what he'll see when the curtains are parted on the city's proposed 2007 budget.
"It's a stealth budget," he said. "I have very little information on it. I've heard people say we're $170 million short. I've heard other figures, as well."
After being shown at today's budget committee session, the operating budget proposals will be scrutinized by councillors on Wednesday.
The public will get a chance to offer its comments at a public meeting at Toronto City Hall on Thursday, and council will then debate and approve a budget in late April.
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