[Torontovibe]

I know a single 37 year old male who owns a hardware store, who also lives in TCHC housing, by himself in a two story two bedroom townhouse. He waited approximately two weeks to get the apartment.
I don't know how.

If you know somebody who is abusing the system, why don't you report him to TCHC? If he is paying market rent it won't be a problem but if he is breaking the rules, he'll get his ass burned. Stop complaining on UT and take some action.

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

I don't see anyone proposing another stadium as part of any proposal before council.

If someone wants to build and operate a Ferris Wheel, I'd hope they do it with minimum government funding. But look at the one in London ... it's not like they need any land for it. It's all built overhanging the water, and the only land required was simply along the edge of an existing, very wide, public area.

I'm certainly not saying the city should spend any significant amount on it. And yes, I realize it's all the window-dressing to cover the land-sale and kickbacks from the developers. I'm only saying that the Ferris Wheel in itself, isn't a horrible idea. Neither are pedestrian bridges that are also in the proposal ... but I don't here anyone jumping on them.

Technically, the only proposal before council is that the Port Lands Co. take control of sale decisions for the Port Lands. I believe that includes the Hearns plant space -- leased by the Fords' developer buddy and recently proposed by Doug as the site for a football stadium.

The rest of the architectural renderings, including the Ferris Wheel, are figments of the imaginations of the architect and Dougie and whoever else was with them when they cooked up this smokescreen. Why not throw one set of imaginative brain farts in with the rest? You don't think Ford would have put a stadium into the plans if he thought that would have helped win over someone on council? Of course he would have -- he left it out due to the uproar the last time he essayed it -- not because he's no longer thinking about the idea.

 

[nfitz]

I agree with you. I'm just not thinking the Ferris Wheel - in itself - is a horrific idea. Though it could be just as easily at other locations along the waterfront.

 

[MetroMan]

Ford Backs down from most cuts, for now

Well, that's more like it. I agree with some of the cuts being made.

Cops standing at constructions sites were always a waste of money. Hire crosswalk workers to do the same job, at a 10th of the price.

The Zoo must not close, but I'm open to the idea of putting out a request for proposals to sell it to private interests. I don't think the city should be in the business of managing zoos but sustain it for a couple more years until a suitable buyer comes in with the stipulation that they must not close it and give the city the option of buying it back if certain guidelines are not followed.

The TTC should not have services cut, but there are way too many overpaid employees there. Contract out cleaning and other maintenance services. I would also like to see fare collectors phased out in favour of customer service ambassadors. Friendly and knowledgeable staff who's job it is to answer questions about the system, give directions about the station, transit map and the city and act as a passive oversight to fare evaders, contacting TTC security if any are seen or if suspicious activity is noticed. This is not a job that requires a lot of skill so a unionized employee is not justified. Contract out these positions.

Garbage tags are an unnecessary frill. I'm in favour of people paying for their garbage collection, but not for recycling. Recycling generates income to the city in on itself. Garbage is all expense.

While some cuts can be made, I continue to assert that the city has a Revenue Problem that needs to be addressed at the provincial level. Childcare, social housing, transit are all items that need to be uploaded to the Province. Now is the best time of all to get that taken care of. Running for his third term, McGuinty will do what is necessary to get re-elected.

A major income generator are tolls. They must be considered. Reinstate the Vehicle Registration Fee with the new benefit that it gives you immunity to toll roads in Toronto. 905'ers are driving on our city roads, taking up resources and they pay no taxes to Toronto. Let them pay for the privilege. Toronto residents already pay taxes, they get to drive in the city for free.

 

[Torontovibe]

Ford Backs down from most cuts, for now

Well, that's more like it. I agree with some of the cuts being made.

Cops standing at constructions sites were always a waste of money. Hire crosswalk workers to do the same job, at a 10th of the price.

The Zoo must not close, but I'm open to the idea of putting out a request for proposals to sell it to private interests. I don't think the city should be in the business of managing zoos but sustain it for a couple more years until a suitable buyer comes in with the stipulation that they must not close it and give the city the option of buying it back if certain guidelines are not followed.

The TTC should not have services cut, but there are way too many overpaid employees there. Contract out cleaning and other maintenance services. I would also like to see fare collectors phased out in favour of customer service ambassadors. Friendly and knowledgeable staff who's job it is to answer questions about the system, give directions about the station, transit map and the city and act as a passive oversight to fare evaders, contacting TTC security if any are seen or if suspicious activity is noticed. This is not a job that requires a lot of skill so a unionized employee is not justified. Contract out these positions.

Garbage tags are an unnecessary frill. I'm in favour of people paying for their garbage collection, but not for recycling. Recycling generates income to the city in on itself. Garbage is all expense.

While some cuts can be made, I continue to assert that the city has a Revenue Problem that needs to be addressed at the provincial level. Childcare, social housing, transit are all items that need to be uploaded to the Province. Now is the best time of all to get that taken care of. Running for his third term, McGuinty will do what is necessary to get re-elected.

A major income generator are tolls. They must be considered. Reinstate the Vehicle Registration Fee with the new benefit that it gives you immunity to toll roads in Toronto. 905'ers are driving on our city roads, taking up resources and they pay no taxes to Toronto. Let them pay for the privilege. Toronto residents already pay taxes, they get to drive in the city for free.

I was in New York City for a week recently and I had the hardest time using the transit system. I could not find attendants/ticket takers to ask for directions or get help with buying a weekly pass. I must have asked about a dozen people to help me buy a subway pass and not one single person knew how to use the machines. I ended up losing 10 bucks because New Yorkers pushed the wrong buttons. We just ended up using regular passes. Just about every person I asked for directions from, either told me they had no clue or they gave me the wrong directions. NOBODY knows east from west in NYC! It was crazy, some people even got into a fight, arguing amongst themselves about which was the right way to The Bronx Zoo and both turned out to be wrong. People don't even know which platform to stand at, it's ridiculous.

In Manhattan I did not see one fare collector. They have a phone but when you try to use it, nobody wants to talk to you. It was a really bad experience. (well, many bad experiences, as I was using the subways all week)

I was so glad to be back in Toronto, using a system where we have attendants in the booth, ready to answer questions at any time. It just feels so much safer too. I do not want to see fare collectors phased out.

 

[Dilla]

I was so glad to be back in Toronto, using a system where we have attendants in the booth, ready to answer questions at any time. It just feels so much safer too. I do not want to see fare collectors phased out.

Ticket collectors may be there, but I've rarely seem them take the time to answer questions. Just because NYC can't get it together to design simple to use machines is not an argument for paying people (in some cases) six figures a year to do the same job as a teenager at 7-11. I've been to plenty of cities where paying for the subway was done at a machine, and was wholly intuitive.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Maybe you should consider the responsibilities and reprecussions of raising a family when you can't afford to feed and house them.

How different is this then any other dead beat dad that expects someone else(the system) to pay for his kids and family?

A social system should be a temporary privilige. But unfortunately, some people think it's a personal right to expect OTHERS to pay for their lifestyle.

Well I don't agree, but I respect your opinion.
As the rich get richer, middle income earners shrink and lower income families or individuals become more and more the norm I think it's more important than ever to have social programs and geared to income housing in place. One example (and there are thousands), what happens to the garbage collectors in west Toronto once they lose their $28/hr. job with good benefits due to contracting out and reapply for $13/hr. with little or no benefits while the owner of the contracting company gets rich. How does that person look after himself or his family in this city on a wage like that? What if something similar happened to you and you were unable to find another comparable paying job in this economic climate? Where would you go when you were unable to pay your mortgage or rent any longer?

 

[Tulse]

Just because NYC can't get it together to design simple to use machines is not an argument for paying people (in some cases) six figures a year to do the same job as a teenager at 7-11.

Are there ticket collectors making six figures in the TTC? Do you have a reference for that?

 

[Dilla]

Are there ticket collectors making six figures in the TTC? Do you have a reference for that?

Yes. Yes, I do.

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/toronto/story.html?id=ee24a8df-907f-40cd-9ea3-9e68d89a524a
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/788256--ttc-s-big-earners-club-up-by-almost-one-third

In 2008 there was 21 ticket collectors who made at least that much, in 2009 there were 14.

 

[Thanos]

While some cuts can be made, I continue to assert that the city has a Revenue Problem that needs to be addressed at the provincial level. Childcare, social housing, transit are all items that need to be uploaded to the Province. Now is the best time of all to get that taken care of. Running for his third term, McGuinty will do what is necessary to get re-elected.

A major income generator are tolls. They must be considered. Reinstate the Vehicle Registration Fee with the new benefit that it gives you immunity to toll roads in Toronto. 905'ers are driving on our city roads, taking up resources and they pay no taxes to Toronto. Let them pay for the privilege. Toronto residents already pay taxes, they get to drive in the city for free.

I'm throwing this out of left field, but do you think that if McGuinty wins a third term he might be more willing to upload certain services for the cities to the province? I doubt he would run for a 4th term and might use this 3rd term as an opportunity to right the ship.

 

[Thanos]

Are there ticket collectors making six figures in the TTC? Do you have a reference for that?

There's quite a few people at TTC making ridiculous amount of cash. I've always said the TTC has to be fully reviewed top to bottom.
And i'm sorry to say this but ticket collectors have to go. TTC has to go fully automated. Montreal & Vancouver have far more advance transit agencies.

 

[Tulse]

Yes. Yes, I do.

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/toronto/story.html?id=ee24a8df-907f-40cd-9ea3-9e68d89a524a
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/788256--ttc-s-big-earners-club-up-by-almost-one-third

In 2008 there was 21 ticket collectors who made at least that much, in 2009 there were 14.

From the article:
"At the TTC, spokesman Brad Ross said station collectors and operators have a maximum base pay of about $60,000 and that anyone who made more than $100,000 would have put in overtime and likely worked statutory holidays, late nights or weekends -- so-called "premium shifts."

"It's cheaper for us to pay overtime to ensure adequate staffing levels than it is for use to hire more people and pay them salary and benefits," Mr. Ross stated, adding overtime is budgeted for each year."

While it may be technically accurate to say that some ticket collectors are "making six figures", it's somewhat deceptive not to note that that includes massive overtime, which is cheaper to pay out than to hire more people. I'd rather have one ticket taker earn $50,000 base plus $50,000 overtime than pay three ticket takers $50,000 base with no overtime for the same amount of work.

 

[Dilla]

Well I don't agree, but I respect your opinion.
As the rich get richer, middle income earners shrink and lower income families or individuals become more and more the norm I think it's more important than ever to have social programs and geared to income housing in place. One example (and there are thousands), what happens to the garbage collectors in west Toronto once they lose their $28/hr. job with good benefits due to contracting out and reapply for $13/hr. with little or no benefits while the owner of the contracting company gets rich. How does that person look after himself or his family in this city on a wage like that? What if something similar happened to you and you were unable to find another comparable paying job in this economic climate? Where would you go when you were unable to pay your mortgage or rent any longer?

This is a good argument. While I would never want the city of Toronto to be a bad employer, I do at times sympathize with the "damn public unions" types. These wadges are a large part of the city's expenses, and they're growing faster than the economy at large. At some point, it's going to have to stop. As we saw with the CUPE 416 strike under Miller, unless the system is changed, there's little which can do so. The following graph is for federal employees (who are paid more than their Provincial and certainly Municipal brother and sisters), but the trend stands for all public services.

This is only wadges, too. Once pensions and the like are added in, those lines would need a whole new graph to have them both visible at same time.

 

[Dilla]

I'd rather have one ticket taker earn $50,000 base plus $50,000 overtime than pay three ticket takers $50,000 base with no overtime for the same amount of work.

50k for a surly cashier is way too much. Besides, I'd rather pay $100 000 for a machine once.

 

[Eug]

I was in New York City for a week recently and I had the hardest time using the transit system. I could not find attendants/ticket takers to ask for directions or get help with buying a weekly pass. I must have asked about a dozen people to help me buy a subway pass and not one single person knew how to use the machines.

Last time I was there, I found the routes rather complex, but otherwise didn't have a huge problem with their system.

Interestingly, in cities where everything is automated, there are often a few bums hanging around who know the system inside out, and are more than willing to share that information for a buck.

50k for a surly cashier is way too much. Besides, I'd rather pay $100 000 for a machine once.

Exactly. Since when does a ticket taker need to be making $60000 a year? At 37.5 hours a week, that works out to 1950 hours a year. That's over $30 an hour.

For overtime, that means they may be making over $45 an hour. That's just crazy.