Rating: NNNNN
Fewer rec services:
Monday closure of 129 community centres until the end of the year ice rinks opening in January instead of December.
No Sunday library hours at 16 branches:
That smarts. Say bye-bye, too, to the Teen Fine Forgiveness program for overdue materials.
Dirtier streets and sidewalks:
Cancellation of planned door-to-door garbage pickup at townhouses.
Less green:
Reduced maintenance in parks, reduced residential tree planting program and delayed implementation of the green roof initiative.
Longer lineups:
Fewer staff working tax, water and parking tag counters. Longer shutdowns of information technology services supporting frontline staff.
More landlords running roughshod over tenants:
Fewer bylaw enforcement officers to respond to residents’ complaints and conduct building inspections.
Skewed priorities:
The cash-soaked cops have committed to cutting a mere $3 million to address the budget shortfall, while the cash-strapped TTC will absorb $6 million in cuts.
And that’s only the half of it
Another $49 million in service cuts are needed to keep the overall budget shortfall at $575 million in 2008. And there’s very little wiggle room – 75 per cent of T.O.’s total budget is used to pay for provincially mandated programs, transit and emergency services.
The bottom-line crime
Toronto is the only large city on the continent that continues to rely on property taxes to pay for services.