The Crys Of Voters Fall On Deaf Ears

Trim the fat, not services City should get house in order, leave cops, TTC alone

By ZEN RURYK, CITY HALL BUREAU

Putting the city's financial house in order tops the list of things Toronto council needs to do to deal with its budget crunch, according to a Sun Media-Leger Marketing poll of city residents.

And when it comes to making cuts, a majority of Toronto residents want councillors to focus on reducing grants, cultural programs and employee costs.

On the flip side, there's little support for slashing funding for police, social services or the TTC in order to cover the budget shortfall.

"There's a sense that if the city -- when I say the city I mean Mayor David Miller's responsibilities for the city -- if they were being run correctly, that we would have a more efficient system, meaning we could handle the budget crunch without imposing new taxes," Leger vice-president Dave Scholz says.

The poll found that 44% of respondents believe getting the city's house in order is the most important step Miller can take to deal with Toronto's financial crisis.