[voxpopulicosmicum]

^It would be difficult to do a worse job than the incumbent, but I suspect Jose might very well be up to the task (of doing a worse job, that is).

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Is he seriously running? If so, he has my vote.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Did Rob Ford confess that he speeds and goes through red traffic lights, when he drives?

See this link.

 

[PinkLucy]

People don't want to get ticketed when they break the law? Of course they don't WANT to, but they SHOULD. Who is this guy and who elected him again?

 

[canmark]

Did Rob Ford confess that he speeds and goes through red traffic lights, when he drives?

See this link.

Ford tells Blair to cut his budget, and when Blair suggests a way to not only save money (no cops monitoring red light runners), but actually produce revenue (from all those red light fines), Ford is against it?

 

[ShonTron]

Ford tells Blair to cut his budget, and when Blair suggests a way to not only save money (no cops monitoring red light runners), but actually produce revenue (from all those red light fines), Ford is against it?

I once got a red-light camera infraction notice in DC. I've been trying to contest it because was for the red left turn lanes, but I was going on a green straight through the intersection, but straddling the left turn and through lane trying to move over to the right at a poorly marked intersection in high-speed traffic. It's neat in one sense getting the photos plus a link to where I can watch and download a video, but I'm annoyed because it's so bloody difficult to contest. The supposed infraction took place in early July 2012 and I'm still waiting to hear whether the results of my mailed-in documentation/defense (had to mail it in as they lost my initial online-submitted defence). A police officer would never pull me over for what I did, but Robotrafficcop just sends them out automatically.

That said, I'd like to see more of this as long as it's simple and easy to contest. I could just stand at Bathurst and Bloor for ten minutes before running out of fingers to count the illegal left turns made there.

 

[Electrify]

The best thing about this would be that there are no demerit points or insurance increases since they cannot tag the individual driver, just the vehicle. To top it off, if people show that they can drive safely at posted speed limits, it may encourage politicians to increase them.

Of course, the flip side is that those who are driving dangerously well be less likely to be taken off the road since the patrol would be automated.

 

[jje1000]

‘The party is over:’ Toronto mayor Rob Ford extols virtues of ‘fantastic’ 2013 budget

Natalie Alcoba | Jan 10, 2013 11:54 AM ET | Last Updated: Jan 10, 2013 11:55 AM ET
More from Natalie Alcoba | @NPHallMonitor

In what could be mistaken as a stump speech, Mayor Rob Ford called the 2013 budget a “turning point†in the city’s history and vowed to finish the job he was elected to do.

During opening remarks at Thursday’s executive committee, Mr. Ford said that two years of “heavy lifting†have paid off and the proposed budget can be balanced without dipping into last year’s surplus.

“The party is over,†Mayor Ford told colleagues as he extolled the virtues of a “fantastic budget†that is “good news for homeowners.†If approved, property taxes will go up by 2% this year. The gross operating budget of $9.4-billion is “basically the same size as last year,†he said, with the number of civic employees continuing to drop.

Since 2011, the city has shed 1,346 positions, the mayor said. The budget relies on $33-million from reserve funds.

“This budget represents a turning point in Toronto’s history. It’s something we were elected to do two years ago to do — and we’re doing exactly what we were elected to do,†he said. “Don’t get me wrong — there is still a lot of work to do over the next two years — and I am committed to finishing the job.â€

The mayor also fired back at the budget’s critics.

“Some people will tell you the sky is falling. Folks, don’t believe them. It’s simply not true, the sky is not falling,†said Mayor Ford, a veiled reference to warnings from the firefighters’ union that cuts to its department could jeopardize safety. The budget would permanently delete 101 vacant positions, taking five trucks out of service and closing one station.

“This budget will maintain the same number of firefighters on the job as last year,†noted Mr. Ford, who pointed to a decline in fire deaths and fire calls.

But there are already signs of a fight on the floor of council on that front and perhaps others after the city reported a larger than expected surplus of $232-million from last year.

City manager Joe Pennachetti implored councillors not to touch surplus dollars for operating expenses and to use the vast majority to fund capital projects.

Forty firefighters will graduate this year and the city will hire 10 new full time and 11 new part time paramedics. There are plans to build four new fire stations. The budget also has $22.5-million in funding for the arts. On the capital side, it includes a plan to spend $505-million over ten years to fix the crumbling Gardiner Expressway.

Next year’s budget projects a $185-million shortfall, even after raising taxes by 2% again and hiking TTC fares by 10 cents.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/0...ord-extolls-virtues-of-fantastic-2013-budget/

However, digging a little deeper...

Is Rob Ford’s Budget Speech a Preview of His Re-Election Campaign?

The mayor's speech to his executive committee provides a glimpse at what he might say to voters during a byelection.
By Steve Kupferman


The 2013 City budget process is entering its final stretch, and Mayor Rob Ford, who campaigned on his supposed fiscal smarts, is naturally going to be doing everything he can in coming days to take credit for any cost reductions. This is especially true now that there’s a chance he’ll be forced into a byelection—assuming there’s a possibility he’ll lose his conflict-of-interest appeal.

This morning on Facebook, Ford released the text of a speech he delivered, also this morning, to his executive committee, which met today to discuss the budget. It reads like a stump speech, so let’s analyze it like one. How truthful is Ford being when he says things like this?

After two years of hard work and heavy lifting, we’ve turned the tide. Our 2013 operating budget is balanced for the first time ever—without using any prior year surplus. Once again, we have held the line on spending.

This sounds great, except it’s not exactly right. Toronto is forbidden, under provincial law, from ever running a deficit, so the City’s budget is actually balanced every single year. And although the recommended 2013 budget doesn’t use prior-year surplus, it does contain a hefty one-time draw from the City’s reserves, which is exactly the type of unsustainable spending Ford has railed against.

Our 2013 gross operating budget is basically the same size as last year.

This is true, but it’s not as impressive as Ford seems to think. The gross operating budget is the total amount of money the City plans to spend on its operations in a given year. It includes revenue and transfers from higher levels of government.

The net operating budget is the part that’s actually funded by property taxes, and it continues to rise under Ford. Metro columnist Matt Elliott pointed this out back in September. “Cutting the gross budget is as simple as scaling back some programs funded by user fees or insisting that no prior year surplus money go into program delivery,†Elliott wrote. In other words, it’s more an accounting trick than a genuine achievement.

Last year, Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday, Executive Director Bruce Anderson and Chief Negotiator Bob Reynolds worked with union leadership to achieve phenomenal savings of over $150 million in our new four-year collective agreements. We avoided a labour disruption and gave city managers the flexibility they need to improve customer service while managing costs. Our employees deserve thanks for doing their part too.

Even Ford’s worst enemies will concede that his administration deserves credit for wrangling affordable contracts with the City’s unions, but the $150-million figure cited here is misleading. It’s the total amount of savings expected over the lifetime of the contracts. Not all of that spending reduction will be realized in 2013.

We also privatized garbage collection west of Yonge St. saving $88 million and improving customer service in the process.

Again, this would be over the lifetime of the contract. The $88 million mentioned by Ford will take seven years to accrue, assuming it’s even an accurate figure.

The City Manager will tell you how 84 per cent of our growth in net expenditures in the last decade is due to Police, Fire, EMS and TTC. This year, our police service came in with a zero-increase budget. Perhaps, the first in its history. Well done. Fire and EMS have also been asked to largely hold the line.

Sure, if you call a budget full of postponed spending and unallocated cuts “flatlined.†All the Toronto Police Service has done is buy itself some time, possibly in the hopes that a new mayor will be along soon.

Transportation is also a major concern in Toronto. I campaigned on making the investments necessary to improve our network of roads, trails and transit. For almost a decade, City Council neglected to maintain the Gardiner Expressway, which now needs a major investment just to keep it safe and functional.

Blaming your predecessors really only works, in politics, if you weren’t one of them. Ford has been on council since 2000. He bears no more blame for the state of the Gardiner than anyone else, but he sure didn’t campaign on fixing it. The expressway was crumbling away for months while the mayor led the City through a doomed attempt to reorient its transit expansion plans towards subways.

If this is the type of rhetoric Ford plans on taking to voters in a few months, he’ll be giving his opponents plenty to work with.

You can read the rest of Ford’s speech here.

http://torontoist.com/2013/01/is-rob-fords-budget-speech-a-preview-of-his-re-election-campaign/

 

[Glen]

Matt Elliot's understanding of the budget is lacking.

 

[CDL.TO]

Matt Elliot's understanding of the budget is lacking.

Please elaborate...

 

[canmark]

Global's Jackson Proskow tweeted: "Compliance Audit finds Giorgio Mammoliti spent $12,065 over authorized limit during last campaign."

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2013/ea/bgrd/backgroundfile-55162.pdf

 

[rm20010]

Please elaborate...

This probably. http://metronews.ca/voices/ford-for-toronto/505282/clarification-rob-ford-budget/

Though not sure what part of that is 'lacking.'

 

[MetroMan]

Toronto City Hall minus Rob Ford, now Mammolitti? Somebody pinch me and tell me Doug is going to resign to run for a Provincial seat and lose.

 

[Glen]

Please elaborate...

In Matt's article he states ;

" Cutting the gross budget is as simple as scaling back some programs funded by user fees or insisting that no prior year surplus money go into program delivery."

Any cuts in program or service spending, regardless of how it is funded, will decrease the gross operating budget. For example as the amount of money that other municipalities give to Toronto for social services has decreased by 31 million dollars between 2009 and 2011. If program spending remained the same, the extra 31 million would be seen in the net operating budget but not the gross operating budget. The utility of the 'net operating budget' is that it is what is used to set the mill rates. The net budget tells us how much is left to pay after grants, user fees, etc. The gross budget tells us how much we are spending, regardless of where the revenue is coming from.

 

[canmark]

Toronto Star: Audit finds Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti’s 2010 election campaign overspent legal limit by $12,065

A city-commissioned audit says Giorgio Mammoliti’s 2010 council campaign overspent the allowable limit by $12,065 in “apparent contravention” of the provincial Municipal Elections Act.

The 43-page audit released Friday found other “additional apparent contraventions in relation to contributions, campaign expenses, and financial reporting,” by the campaign of the veteran Ward 7 York West councillor.

The city’s compliance audit committee will discuss the findings at its Feb. 4 meeting. The panel of three experts can choose to do nothing or refer the findings to a special prosecutor for possible legal action.

If a court found Mammoliti guilty of breaching the Act, he would be ousted from office.

* * *

The compliance audit committee ordered the probe last January after Toronto resident David DePoe lodged a complaint. At the time, Mammoliti told reporters he had no plans to go to court to fight the audit — as Ford initially did — saying: “I have nothing to hide.”

According to the Municipal Elections Act, anyone found guilty of breaching the act “forfeits any office to which he or she was elected,” and can’t run again until the next general election, disqualifying them from any byelection or appointment process.