Toronto police may be affected by citywide layoffs
Posted July 13, 2011 2:14 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Lay-offs could hit Toronto police officers, as part of Mayor Rob Ford’s plan to trim the municipal budget.
The Toronto Police Service is being asked to cut $84 million from its budget, a reduction of about 10 per cent. Freezes on promotions and wages are also being considered.
“We’ve actually asked [Chief Bill Blair] to look at what the impact would be if the service had 500 fewer officers and also, perhaps, 200 less civilians,” Coun. Michael Thompson told reporters at City Hall on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the city offered voluntary buyouts to 17,000 workers. According to city manager Joe Pennachetti, the Voluntary Separation Program offers staff three weeks of severance pay for every year of service up to a maximum of 26 weeks of pay, and managers would get four weeks per year with the same cap.
While firefighters, police and TTC employees are not eligible for the Voluntary Separation Program, they’re still being asked to trim costs.
But layoffs might prove difficult, one councillor suggests.
“It takes about three years to lay a police officer off,” Adam Vaughan told CityNews.
“Even then, it can be overturned at the last moment. So there’s no quick savings in laying a police officer off. Even the early retirement packages that they’re offering is no guarantee that you cut the position – the deployment allows the chief to rehire.”
Vaughan was referring to an early retirement package offer by the Toronto Police Services Board to its senior officers last week, which could save $2.8 million.
Mike McCormack of the Toronto Police Association said any efforts to remove officers would be met with firm resistance.
“When it becomes an officer and public safety, the association will fight that and we will use every means at our disposable to fight that through the courts,” he said.
According to Mark Pugash, Toronto Police Services, efforts are already underway to trim the budget.
“There have been very significant cuts made to overtime, to travel and to other areas and we are looking at everything we do to see where we can save money and where there can be efficiencies.”
Meanwhile, the latest KPMG report suggests the City of Toronto could save millions by phasing out 2,000 subsidized daycare spots, outsourcing or selling its long-term care homes and amalgamating paramedic and fire services.
