Who Says Shirley Hoy Doesn't Have Her Finger On The Problems

Surely the city would respond to critics

by ROB GRANATSTEIN

The January cover story in Toronto Life, "Hall of Shame," looks at what's ailing City Hall. One target was city staff, a beaten down, stretched thin crew. In response, City Manager Shirley Hoy wrote a 1,200 word "pep talk," as one paper put it, to her staff. Hoy, as always, was careful in her words. What if she had been into the egg nog before writing the memo? Might it look like this:

Subject: Important message to staff from Shirley Hoy, City Manager

To: The Toronto Public Service

That damn Toronto Life carve job got me thinking it's time to set the record straight.

The article states the city is in shambles and puts some of the blame on a lack of accountability from its public service. The story states we throw away money, we're the McDonald's of municipal governance -- a great learning experience for employees who then scatter to better jobs.

Well, here's the real deal:

First, amalgamation sucked.

Second, Toronto Life pointed out how many of our fine (and some dead weight, really) senior staff have left the city. I'm surprised so many of you have stayed. With the inmates running the asylum, with salaries frozen, replacements for departed staff left vacant for years at a time, all under the intense media glare, what's kept you here? Why haven't you run to Mississauga for more money and less scrutiny?

Mayor Hazel McCallion raises taxes and plants a 5% infrastructure fee on residents and no one threatens to burn down a strip mall. What bliss!

The MFP inquiry showed us some of our major shortcomings, but secret meetings in underground parking garages and likely payoffs weren't our fault. Sleeping with our contractors and shovelling them work, sure that was us, but she's gone now.

Now, let's bring it back to this term of council.

City staff made it abundantly clear to Mayor David Miller and all the elected officials a budget crisis would hit in 2008 and new taxes were needed. We, along with the mayor, would make the case to our residents at public meetings, then get those tools passed.

What did he do? He didn't attend the meetings, hanging "Gentle" Joe Pennachetti and city beancounters out to dry in public lynchings. Citizens don't want to hear from bureaucrats, they want their elected representatives there. Fumble number one.

Then the mayor couldn't get the taxes passed by council. Fumble number two.

So the mayor really wanted to cut to the bone so people felt it.

Closing libraries and rec centres wasn't our idea alone.

Fumble three. Game lost.

We, the bureaucrats of the City of Toronto, also told the politicians not to extend the deadline for downspout disconnections because it could cost the city millions. What did the elected officials do? They rejected our recommendation, pushed the deadline back and opened the floodgates. Now the waiting list for the service is a decade long, and will cost the city tens of millions of dollars. Morons.

Next, expenses. Elected officials expense whatever they want, putting the onus on city clerks to approve or deny the ridiculous and obscene charges to taxpayers. Camcorders? Leather couches? Go nuts! To crack down on this procedure, the first step taken by those politicians was to audit the two lowest spending members. Smart.

As you recall, we were tarred and feathered over the decision to sole source the purchase of new TTC subway cars to Bombardier recently. This will end up being a good decision -- but should have gone out for competitive bids. Now we're set to buy a billion dollars worth of streetcars. Again we said go out to competitive bids, but with a Canadian content provision. What does Coun. Glenn De Baeremaeker do? Moves a motion to sole source the deal to Bombardier! No wonder our residents think we're in the unions' pocket. Thankfully that motion was rejected.

So in conclusion, I wish us all the best for this year, and don't answer your phone. It might be a politician with another asinine idea. Oh, and all your vacation for the year has been cancelled.

All the best in '08, and see you at the island airport for our flight to Mont Tremblant,

Shirley Hoy