Axe falls at City Hall$83 million in spending cuts announced |
Dirtier streets, more potholes, snow removal reductions and a flurry of other municipal service cuts await Toronto residents after fiscal measures announced at City Hall Friday.
Mayor David Miller and his senior bureaucrats unveiled a slate of cuts that will save $83 million next year. When $9 million worth of cuts from the TTC and police are thrown in, the city will bank savings of $43 million for the remainder of 2007.
Miller said the cuts were necessary after city council last month put off making a decision until October on whether to impose an unpopular land transfer tax and a new vehicle registration fee.
“It’s time for people to understand that you either pay for the quality of life in the city that you want or you get a different quality of life,” Miller said.
The cuts include:
•Community centres will be closed on Mondays. Programming that takes place on Mondays will be cancelled.
- Why can't the community get involved, on a volunteer basis, to supplement union employees?
•The scheduled opening of Toronto’s outdoor artificial ice rinks will be delayed from December to January.
- How many outdoor rinks were actually open last year but the sites were probably fully staffed?
•Temporary workers who pick up litter will be let go two weeks early.
- Why aren't they being let go now?
•The scheduled December yard waste pickup has been cancelled.
- By December it is probably not necessary anyway.
•Plans to introduce curbside garbage pickup at townhouses has been trashed.
- A service that was being paid for wasn't being provided so the city will continue to not provide the service.
•There will be fewer pothole repairs.
•There will be less street cleaning.
•City plows will only clear sidewalks and driveway bottoms when a minimum of 15 cm of snow falls — instead of the usual 8 cm.
- The city doesn't clean my sidewalks .
•Sixteen libraries will close on Sundays.
- I previously suggested how this could have been overcome. Don't buy a theater and cut councilor's office budgets.
•Areas that receive automated leaf pick up will only receive the service once this fall — instead of twice
- I don't receive automated leaf pickup.
•There will be delays when people call for bylaw inspectors to deal with graffiti
- Why can't they just call the mayor or councilor's office and leave a message?
•People will have to endure wait times of up to 20 minutes when they want to speak to a court services worker about a parking ticket
- Why not just pay the ticket or establish and publish the guidelines used by Parking Enforcement.
•The bicycle paramedic program in the Entertainment District will be reduced from four days to two days a week
- Is the service a necessity?
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