Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s ‘gravy train’ fairly lean as city looks at service cuts

A hot and humid Toronto woke up Tuesday morning to the news it was now the most expensive Canadian city in which to live.

The recommendation the city cut a wide range of services to compensate for a looming $774 million budget deficit didn't help morale. Word of a buyout being offered to 50,000 municipal workers led many to wonder who'd be left to run the city.

Mayor Rob Ford then voted against all of Toronto's community grants programs at a Tuesday morning council meeting, in contrast to the 43 city councillors, who generally believed dollars should continue to flow to community groups and events.

Coun. Doug Ford, the mayor's brother, only dissented from the pack when it came to money for services geared toward "vulnerable, marginalized and high-risk communities."

Could it be the gravy train the mayor pledged to stop in his landslide election victory last fall has seen its brake pads overheat?

The review from KPMG consultants, which examined water, solid-waste, transportation and technical services, concluded the only real room for cuts involved lowering service levels. So, the $350,000 study essentially concluded Toronto could save money if it did things like stop plowing the snow.

A suggestion that eliminating the flouridation of drinking water to save a few dollars was accompanied by a warning the dental health of the city could be affected.

The conclusion wasn't quite what many Rob Ford supporters had in mind when they backed his view that city hall was overrun by excessive spending on unnecessary things.

The mayor's opposition to the community grants, which generally cruise to approval without opposition, was accentuated by the fact he wanted each category to be voted on individually in order to record his dissent.

Presumably, the stance was based on his view the management of services aimed at improving daily life can be done better by the private sector.

News that 17,000 municipal employees would be offered a buyout was downplayed by Ford's inner circle on the grounds few junior staff would bail out of their jobs for three weeks of pay for every year of service.

But incentives aimed at more experienced mid-career workers could also eliminate the city's best employees.

(CBC Photo)