Ford Financial Plan Includes Promise To Halve Council; Reduce City Staff Through Attrition
Posted September 28, 2010 1:42 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Rob Ford unveiled his detailed financial plan for the city Tuesday. The mayoral hopeful said he plans to “stop the gravy train” by scrapping the “perks and luxuries” afforded to local politicians and reduce the size of council.
An unusually stoic Ford outlined his plan in a YouTube video (see below), detailing the four key points of his fiscal strategy, which include:
-Reducing the size of city council to 22 members plus the mayor down from 44, starting in 2014. Ford claims the move will result in $9 million in direct savings (salaries and staffing costs), and $6 million in indirect savings.
-Reducing the size of government by reducing city staff through attrition. Ford claims this will save the city $1.1 billion over four years.
-Reducing the cost of government by reducing the city’s operating budget by 2.5 per cent in 2011; 2 per cent in 2012; 1.5 per cent in 2013 and a zero per cent reduction in 2014. Ford says this will save the city $1.7 billion over four years.
-Creating a “Saving Our City” program to identify potential areas where savings are possible to the tune of $61 million over four years.
“It’s time to refocus city government on doing its job efficiently and effectively, while respecting the taxpayers of Toronto,” Ford said.
George Smitherman released his financial plan Monday and he also plans to reduce the number of city staff through attrition. He also wants to scrap the vehicle registration tax.
