In a list of budget “talking points” she distributed this week to right-leaning councillors, Mayor Rob Ford’s press secretary acknowledged the obvious fact Ford will not: He is indeed considering service cuts.Adrienne Batra’s “talking points” were intended to keep the utterances of Ford’s allies consistent with his own. But in her list, obtained by the Star, she abandoned a notable part of Ford’s personal messaging strategy.
Ford “guaranteed” during his mayoral campaign that he would not cut any services. He has steadfastly refused to utter the words “cuts” or “service reductions” in recent months, repeatedly insisting that he will find “efficiencies.”
The list nonetheless includes the following: “There are many ways to reduce our budget, before we decide to cut services. For example, better purchasing, reducing back office staffing, etc. However, some services that are not as important to the public may be reduced to maintain funding for services that are important.”
On Monday, city manager Joe Pennachetti proposed cuts to services that are indeed important to Torontonians, including child care, snow-clearing and libraries.
Batra implicitly advised the councillors to join Ford in declining to express specific opinions on Pennachetti’s proposals. Left-leaning councillors have demanded that Ford take ownership of the proposals; he has generally resisted.
Batra’s list begins: “Key Message: This is the City Manager's report.”
It is standard practice for a mayor to attempt to shape the public statements of council allies. David Miller’s assistants regularly discussed communications tactics with left-leaning councillors. But they did not distribute formal talking points, which are more common in party politics than in a municipal system in which councillors are theoretically independent.
The talking points, like the “cheat sheet” voting recommendations Ford’s assistants give to his allies at meetings, reflect the administration’s desire to maintain discipline. But the talking points may not have a significant impact on the things said by those allies, who are likely to echo his message regardless.
Councillors Peter Milczyn and Michelle Berardinetti, both members of Ford’s executive committee, said they had not seen Batra’s list this week. Milczyn said he reads talking-points memos from Ford’s office merely to help improve his understanding of an issue; Berardinetti said she never reads them.
“I talk for myself,” she said.
Councillor Gord Perks, a Ford critic, said he did not have a problem with the mayor’s distribution of talking points. But once shown the memo, he said, “The mayor’s office persists in forcing their allies to tell Torontonians lies.”
One of the items on the list is misleading at best. It begins: “For years, our city has spent more money than it brings in.”
The city's operating budget — the focus of the debate — has been balanced every year, as required by law, though councillors have sometimes resorted to creative one-time fixes to address the annual “opening shortfall.” The separate budget for capital projects is largely financed with borrowed money, but this will not change under Ford.
Batra, echoing Ford and top city bureaucrats, used this year's opening shortfall figure of $774 million in describing the current problem. But surplus revenues and other found money have now reduced the shortfall to less than $500 million.
Batra did not respond to a request for comment.
-
TEXT OF THE MEMO
• Key Message: This is the City Manager's report. It will now undergo the scrutiny of Councillors for a final decision as to how we will move towards fixing the City's $774 million structural deficit. We want to thank staff for all of the hard work they have put into this report.
• There are many ways to reduce our budget, before we decide to cut services. For example, better purchasing, reducing back office staffing, etc. However, some services that are not as important to the public may be reduced to maintain funding for services that are important.
• Toronto has accumulated a lot of nice-to-have agencies and departments that may have grown up and be ready to "leave the nest" and succeed on their own. The City Manager identifies some of these in his report.
• For years, our city has spent more money than it brings in. Instead of fixing the problem, we've kept passing the buck to "next year." Well, next year has arrived. It's time we fixed the problem. What we're doing with this core service review is the same thing every family in every household across the city does every day.
• As of today, not a penny of spending has been changed in any budget.
Origin
Source: Toronto Star
No comments:
Post a Comment