{"id":16595,"date":"2010-12-13T08:30:54","date_gmt":"2010-12-13T12:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingtoronto.ca\/?p=16595"},"modified":"2010-12-12T19:18:55","modified_gmt":"2010-12-12T23:18:55","slug":"lorinc-who-really-stopped-the-gravy-train","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/12\/13\/lorinc-who-really-stopped-the-gravy-train\/","title":{"rendered":"LORINC: Who really stopped the gravy train"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When council convenes this week to debate the new regime\u2019s signature moves, I\u2019m guessing Mayor Rob Ford won\u2019t be rising to offer praise to former budget chief Shelley Carroll, former TTC chair Adam Giambrone and the senior bureaucrats who were allegedly complicit in the fiscal boondoggle that was the Miller era.<\/p>\n

He should, of course, because this crowd — contrary to much of what we heard during the election — has made it possible for Toronto\u2019s Waste Collector in Chief to deliver a property tax freeze for which he has no electoral mandate.<\/p>\n

On top of the news from earlier this fall that the city will post a $275 million surplus for fiscal 2010, TTC chief general manager Gary Webster on Friday revealed that the combination of ridership growth and cost containment will yield a $60 million surplus for the same period<\/a> [PDF]. The windfall, presumably, means the TTC will be asked to make do with a smaller subsidy from the city — $370 million compared to the $430 million that had been budgeted for 2010.<\/p>\n

In other words, after the TTC\u2019s annus horribilis, the embattled agency and Toronto commuters will ante up exactly enough cash to kill the vehicle registration tax for 2011. Because that\u2019s how we\u2019ll use the money in the post-war-on-the-car era, right? Certainly, the Fordists aren\u2019t about to pat Webster on the head and urge him to re-invest those savings in better transit service or (shudder) lower fares.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The TTC windfall — achieved, it must be said, without the help of a professional board of citizen-appointees \u2013 brings the projected 2011 operating shortfall to a measly $168 million, down from initial estimates of $503 million.<\/p>\n

Now let\u2019s compare that opening position to previous years:<\/p>\n

In 2009, the city entered the budget process facing a $679 million hole, which was subsequently filled with $400 million in one-time funds, including $238 million from Queen\u2019s Park.<\/p>\n

Coming out of the 2009 strike, the city was looking at a $500 million gap for 2010. But thanks to the strike dividend, lean wage hikes in the new collective agreement and some unexpected profits in the city\u2019s investment portfolio, the Millerites delivered a balanced budget with a showily reduced tax hike, followed by the aforementioned surplus.<\/p>\n

The savings came from a sweeping review by city manager Joe Pennachetti, who imposed across-the-board savings of 5% in each of 2010 and 2011. (Carroll, as budget chief, delivered the political support.)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s little wonder that Pennachetti, during last week\u2019s executive committee session, repeatedly assured councillors that the city could balance its budget without a tax increase. After all, a $168 million gap isn\u2019t such a formidable challenge when you\u2019ve figured out how to surmount much larger fiscal chasms.<\/p>\n

But instead of acknowledging the efforts of his predecessors and his own bureaucrats, Ford will yammer on about councilor expenses and the infamous snack table and leading by example, while his officials will take every opportunity to drive home the point that the new sheriff has delivered the long sought-after austerity we apparently crave.<\/p>\n

If he\u2019s such a straight shooter, let\u2019s hear him give credit where credit\u2019s due.<\/p>\n

photo by David Michael Lamb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When council convenes this week to debate the new regime\u2019s signature moves, I\u2019m guessing Mayor Rob Ford won\u2019t be rising to offer praise to former budget chief Shelley Carroll, former TTC chair Adam Giambrone and the senior bureaucrats who were allegedly complicit in the fiscal boondoggle that was the Miller era. He should, of course,Continue reading “LORINC: Who really stopped the gravy train”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4051,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8],"tags":[629,4833,976,2450,6435,4498,3280,5765,593,426,416,16694,316,227,1276,8746,19,889,362,391,16693],"class_list":["post-16595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","category-transit","tag-adam-giambrone","tag-budget-chief","tag-chair","tag-chief-general-manager","tag-city-manager","tag-david-michael-lamb","tag-gary-webster","tag-joe-pennachetti","tag-location","tag-mayor","tag-pdf","tag-post-war-on-the-car-era","tag-queen","tag-rob-ford","tag-shelley-carroll","tag-sheriff","tag-toronto","tag-ttc","tag-ttc-chair","tag-usd","tag-when-council"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLORINC: Who really stopped the gravy train - Spacing Toronto<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/12\/13\/lorinc-who-really-stopped-the-gravy-train\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LORINC: Who really stopped the gravy train - Spacing Toronto\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When council convenes this week to debate the new regime\u2019s signature moves, I\u2019m guessing Mayor Rob Ford won\u2019t be rising to offer praise to former budget chief Shelley Carroll, former TTC chair Adam Giambrone and the senior bureaucrats who were allegedly complicit in the fiscal boondoggle that was the Miller era. 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