Budget crisis triggers widespread cuts to Toronto city services

Last Updated: Friday, August 10, 2007 | 8:26 PM ET

CBC News

Torontonians will have to get used to reduced city services such as litter cleanup and snow removal, and less access to community centres and libraries as part of sweeping proposed cuts to deal with a budget crisis, the city said Friday.

After weeks of warnings and speculation surrounding the cuts, a large crowd gathered at city hall as city manager Shirley Hoy briefed reporters, staff and city councillors on the cost containment plan to deal with the city's $575-million shortfall for next year. 

Toronto Mayor David Miller says the cuts would not have been necessary had a land transfer tax and a vehicle registration tax been approved by councillors last month.
(Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

"Unfortunately, there remain no other options to fund municipal services," Hoy said Friday. "Therefore, these recommendations will be the start of much more difficult choices in the future."

Despite two weeks of scouring the city's books for areas to cut $100 million, senior staff were only able to come up with savings of $34 million by year's end, which Hoy said would lead to $83 million in savings in a full year.

The measures include:

• Closing all community centres on Mondays.
• Reducing library hours.  
• Reducing litter pickup and snow removal.
• Delaying opening artificial ice rinks in the coming winter.
• Cancelling plans for front-door garbage pickup at townhouses.

Hoy outlined a four-point plan to help restore long-term fiscal health to the city, saying senior officials would employ a strategy to get the province to upload the cost of social service programs and resume support for 50 per cent of the Toronto Transit Commission's operating costs.

The city will look to obtain new and diverse sources of revenue and continue to ensure cost control, she added.

City 'in serious, serious trouble,' says union leader

The cuts do not call for any layoffs of full-time staff. The focus instead is on reducing hours for part-time and contract workers.

The civic employees' union isn't happy with the cuts, calling them a step backward for Toronto.

Brian Cochrane, president of the Toronto Civic Workers Union, Local 416, said he understands the financial situation the city is in, but said the hiring freeze and job cutbacks will affect workers' security.

"I worry about the future," he said. "I really think that we are in serious, serious trouble in terms of the quality of life in this city and employment. That's where my heart is."

The budget crisis has forced other services to find reductions. They include the TTC, which will cut $6 million, and the Toronto Police Service, which has offered to cut $3 million — far from the $10 million it was asked to trim.

The TTC has said it will make further decisions in the fall about any potential cuts to bus routes.

Some measures, such as service reductions, don't need council approval, and most of the cuts are expected to go through in the next few months without a vote.

Ever since city councillors voted against bringing in two new taxes last month, Mayor David Miller has warned the consequences will be severe.

'We saw this coming'

Following Friday's announcement, Miller continued to assert that the deep cuts would not have been necessary had the land transfer tax and the vehicle tax been approved.

"Do we want to live in a vibrant successful city that's one of North America's most important, and takes its rightful place in the world, or do we want our quality of life to deteriorate? That's the choice we face," Miller told reporters.

"If you want a great city, you have to find the resources to pay for it."

Already, the city's transit system has announced proposed major reductions in service, but now many of the other core services city hall delivers are coming under the knife.

The services only make up about a sixth of the city budget. But budget chief Shelley Carroll said the cuts will all happen in those areas, as other services such as child care, welfare, old-age homes and shelters have to be provided and cannot be cut under provincial law.

But Miller's critics in city council were furious, saying the cuts are happening too fast.

Tensions among rival councillors boiled over after the announcement, with Denzil Minnan-Wong and Adam Vaughan engaging in a shouting match in front of reporters over who was to blame for the cuts.

Minnan-Wong said the budget crisis has been developing for years and the mayor should have had a backup plan.

"We saw this coming last year. David Miller knew the cupboard was going to be bare, and he has done absolutely nothing."

Minnan-Wong said creative solutions could have been found with more time, such as cutting staff overtime and privatizing some services.