Position As Chair Of Budget Committee Might Be Opening

It is obvious either the chair and miller are not talking or the chair is not listening.....foolhardy moves not tolerated withing the miller politburo.

Miller quashes trash fee hikes TheStar.com - GTA - Miller quashes trash fee hikes

Mayor adamant rates that begin in November will remain unchanged for at least one year

September 23, 2008

Jim Byers
Paul Moloney
City Hall Bureau

Garbage fees for Toronto residents may not be going up after all.

Mayor David Miller yesterday backtracked on the city's stated position of hiking garbage fees by 3.5 per cent as of the new year.

"Not next year, no," he said when asked if homeowners would pay more for having their trash hauled away. "The plan when it was passed by city council contemplated regular increases to pay for things like an increase in the price of diesel and gas, but the project's just starting for single-family residential in November, so it wouldn't be appropriate to increase the fees in January."

Asked how the city would absorb the higher fuel costs that have hit consumers and other businesses this year, Miller replied, "There's enough money there this year for the program."

Miller's comments contradict those of his budget chief, Councillor Shelley Carroll. Carroll last week was asked about the idea of an increase and said, "We will have to announce fairly soon – within a week or so – that there is the possibility (of a 3.5 per cent hike)."

Yesterday, Carroll's office referred the Star to the mayor's office, saying Carroll was locked in talks with staff on the solid waste budget.

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