He Might Come Across As A Harmless Buffoon

But Councilor Ford pales in comparison to Comrade Miller and his Politburo. Would the city be any worse off if his recommendations were put into place? My liquor bill doesn't come close to $59K/yr, I don't get any freebies at Starbucks, I have to pay to get on the TTC, get into the CNE or the Zoo, etc.

Ford's indecent proposals
Etobicoke councillor's bid to cut a few bucks from $8 billion city budget gets flattened
By SUE-ANN LEVY

Like he's done for the past seven years, Etobicoke's Rob Ford -- council's unfailing penny-pincher -- put forward a pile of motions yesterday aimed at helping to alleviate the city's fiscal mess.

Taken separately, the 45 motions didn't amount to much in the grand scheme of a $7.8-billion budget. There was a proposal to cut the $59,000 spent on the "three bottles of a wine a day" served to the homeless at Seaton House and the $77,000 on the plant watering service in city buildings. There were also the usual motions to eliminate a pile of perks given to councillors -- the free golf passes at city courses, free transit passes, free parking at Green P lots and free passes to the Toronto Zoo and Exhibition Place.

We'd heard Ford present many of the options before and practically get laughed out of the council chamber. To be truthful, the larger-than-life councillor does have a way of getting under the skin of many of his colleagues.

But this year is like no other. Faced with reserves depleted to a paltry $24 million, a $2.63-billion debt and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of backlogs in repairs to roads, city buildings, parks and community centres, every single penny worth of savings should count to this council.

In other words, many of Ford's motions made perfect sense.

Yet what did his council colleagues do when given the opportunity to show seniors on a fixed income, overtaxed businesses contemplating moving to the 905 and residents watching the city decline that they meant business?

Why they voted every single one of his motions down before approving this year's $7.8-billion budget 27-15, along with its 3.8% property tax hike and dozens of user fee increases.

They were resolute in their defiance of Ford's attempt to cut two newsletters -- Waste Watch and City Routes (make work projects both) -- for a savings of more than $460,000.

Mayor David Miller and his minions refused to touch the $460,000 even though they'd spent the hour before complaining they didn't have a measly $150,000 to beef up security in city parks, where drug deals are rampant.

They (the mayor and his socialist seals) bristled when asked to pare their $53,100 office budgets to $30,000 and to cut the $80,000 for trans-fat-laden sandwiches and cookies, juices, tea and coffee served at council and committee meetings.

OPENLY DERIDED

And some openly derided Ford for daring to propose that city staff levels and those at the ABCs be reduced by 2%.

In fact, Coun. Paula Fletcher was heard to heckle "only (cut staff) in Ward 2 (Ford's ward)," which was followed by guffaws from Miller and the rest of the minions.

"They're all self-serving individuals," said Ford afterwards. "This is insane ... every single one of these councillors and the mayor who supported the budget should be fired."

Rightly so. You'd think they'd want to do the right thing -- for the optics alone. Still I suppose I shouldn't be surprised with their actions considering how out of touch they are with the realities outside of City Hall and the lengths they will go, in my view, to stay on the King of Denial's good side.

Take Coun. Gloria Lindsay Luby -- a one-time fiscal conservative. "I don't know how many times I've heard the refrain (the city's house is not in order)," she complained. "I'm sick of hearing it."

"Our house is in order," Miller, a Harvard-educated economist, reiterated for the umpteenth time yesterday, claiming many of Ford's motions were "false economies."

Boy oh boy, are Toronto taxpayers in trouble. It all made me wonder what it will take for Miller and his socialist seals to start acting like the city is in a financial crisis.

Bankruptcy proceedings? A provincial takeover of the city? A public tax revolt perhaps?

It's a possibility for, like Coun. Denzil Minnan-Wong, I don't think the public is buying the mayor's tiresome nonsense.

"Most of the public believe that the city doesn't have its house in order," he said. "They (this council) seem to want to blame all levels of government for their problems ... the public won't accept the fact that we have an $8-billion budget and we can't find any savings at all."