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The 47-Ward plan passing through Exec Committee is a positive sign.

Skeezix said:
(Although to be honest, the proposed ward RW34 under the 47-ward proposal, which joins together Rosedale, the west Danforth and a good chunk of Old East York, is a bit of a dog's breakfast).
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There are certainly some weird ones in there.
 
Some common sense from one Councillor:

At least one councillor, Robinson, noted incumbent councillors shouldn’t be the ones making this decision.

“I think it’s outrageous that we’re really voting on our own jobs,” she said. “There should be another body . . . making these types of the decisions because it clearly speaks to in my mind, incumbent advantage.”
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If the 47 ward proposal goes through, it could make for some interesting battles between incumbents whose wards are rejiggered. For instance, Gord Perks could run against Ana Bailao, while Cesar Palacio could run against Joe Mihevc (how do I donate to Joe?) I'm sure there will be a lot of behind the scenes accords so that incumbents avoid running against one another. Meanwhile, there could be upward of four new councillors in Downtown Toronto, so it will be interesting to see who is testing the waters.
 
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AlvinofDiaspar said:
At the same time, there is no vote that would show the personal ethics of councillor better than one that would potentially put them out of a job.

AoD
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I can only think of 1 government that had enough personal ethics to vote themselves out of jobs - well at least a 20% reduction in jobs.
 
BurlOak said:
I can only think of 1 government that had enough personal ethics to vote themselves out of jobs - well at least a 20% reduction in jobs.
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You didn't catch my nuisance - making decisions that can potentially vote one out of their jobs is a very different thing from taking a position that less representation is a good thing by default and that any decision to chose to do so is also a good thing. That's a different question entirely.

AoD
 
Council adopts new ward boundary structure of 47 wards 28-13. Tory against.

Council also approved 27-14 Filion's motion asking city lawyer to request OMB consider council's wish to implement new boundaries before the next election in 2018.
 
salsa said:
Council also approved 27-14 Filion's motion asking city lawyer to request OMB consider council's wish to implement new boundaries before the next election in 2018.
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Can someone elaborate on this. It was my understanding that City Staff said that it was unlikely they'd be able to implement the new boundaries before 2018. Does this make it more likely for them to be implemented in 2018?
 
Nice, though I think that Toronto should implement a borough system at some point to delegate some power more to a local level.
 
jje1000 said:
Nice, though I think that Toronto should implement a borough system at some point to delegate some power more to a local level.
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We have the community councils with some delegated rights - a lot of stuff still at the city council level like tree cutting could get pushed down. Or are you suggesting borough presidents and separately elected borough reps?
 
No surprise. Sue-Ann Levy (Toronto Sun) didn't like the result. See link.

Council's self-entitled porkers vote to swell their ranks

Amid further claims they’re extremely overworked and can’t possibly provide good customer service if their constituents increase, Toronto councillors ate up another four hours Wednesday debating whether to add three more members to their ranks.

This is in addition to the three and a half hours spent at the Oct. 26 executive committee doing the same.

All told, based on a salary (with benefits) of $135,000 per year, they wasted about $14,000 discussing what was preordained.

That doesn’t include bureaucratic staff costs to sit there and listen to them whine and pontificate, or the $819,050 consultant study dressed in the guise of a Ward Boundary review.

There was never a question these self-entitled porkers wouldn’t vote to add three more councillors, even on the day after a clear message had been given by the American electorate that they’re fed up with this kind of entitlement.

And vote in favour of the idea they did: 28-13.

Sure they twisted themselves into pretzels to try to convince whoever might have seen the debate that this ward restructuring and the addition of three new councillors is all about improving democracy for areas with a growing population, for the most part in the downtown core.

There was the usual amount of shameless back patting, like this comment from Councillor Sarah Doucette in an indignant high-pitched voice: “We do grassroots work … we are the people who help people with the things they touch, taste and smell,” she said, noting she’s sometimes forced to attend two community meetings in one night (for heaven’s sake!)

Equally self-important was Josh Colle, who berated some of his fellow councillors (Stephen Holyday, Gary Crawford, Michael Ford) for wanting to diminish the size of council.

“Saying there are too many damn politicians is easy and it’s lazy,” he sniffed. “It’s about proper representation.”

James Pasternak, who pushed the motion at executive committee, insisted it won’t cost more to go to 47 wards — but if councillors stick with the current configuration, costs will go up amid “pressure” to hire more staff to accommodate constituent needs.

The first question I have is what about 311? Isn’t that supposed to offload some of the day-to-day complaints so councillors can focus on the big picture.

And to suggest it won’t cost more to add three more troughers is frankly an insult to our intelligence. The city’s own report says it will cost at least $870,000 per year to operate three new offices — and that doesn’t include their $135,000 salaries and benefits. City officials also indicate $210,000 may be needed for one-time start-up costs.

But that doesn’t factor in the fact that councillors fully expect their decision will be taken to the Ontario Municipal Board, and possibly even Divisional Court.

Last I looked it takes staff time and resources to appear before both of those bodies.

The point is councillors once again have proven they can’t, or won’t, look at the big picture and that optics don’t matter. In fact, they yet again prove they’re like spoiled little children wanting what they want.

For heaven’s sake, they can’t be that hard-done-by either considering many of them — and pretty near all who voted for increased ranks — have been councillors for two or three decades.

How the heck can any of these councillors and the mayor, for that matter, expect the bureaucrats to rein in spending by 2.6% per department and agency in this year’s looming budget while they’re looking to spend more money on more fiefdoms.

Perhaps City Hall really doesn’t have a budget problem if $2-million-plus (including the study) can be spent with the drop of a hat.


COUNCIL VOTES TO INCREASE COUNCILLORS FROM 44 to 47

YES: Paul Ainslie, Maria Augimeri, Ana Bailao, Jon Burnside, Shelley Carroll, Josh Colle, Christin Carmichael-Greb, Joe Cressy, Janet Davis, Frank DiGiorgio, Sarah Doucette, John Filion, Paula Fletcher, Mary Fragedakis, Michelle Holland, Jim Karygiannis, Norm Kelly, Mike Layton, Josh Matlow, Pam McConnell, Mary-Margaret McMahon, Joe Mihevc, James Pasternak, Gord Perks, Anthony Perruzza, David Shiner, Michael Thompson, Kristyn Wong-Tam.

NO: John Campbell, Gary Crawford, Vince Crisanti, Glenn DeBaeremaeker, Michael Ford, Stephen Holyday, Chin Lee, Giorgio Mammoliti, Ron Moeser, Frances Nunziata, Cesar Palacio, Jaye Robinson, John Tory.

MIA: Justin DiCiano, Mark Grimes, Denzil Minnan-Wong.
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So, subject to OMB approval, I now live in the totally common sense ward of Rosedale-Danforth-East York.
 
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