The FORTRESS of SOLITUDE

Sometimes municipal politics can be intriguing to say the least.

BREAKING NEWS: City torches services, fireworks ensue

City Manager Shirley Hoy announced a list of cuts to City services at a noon-hour press conference at City Hall. The cuts reduce 2007 operating budget expenditures by $34.4 million in 2007 and $83 million in 2008.

Cuts will affect Parks & Recreation, Municipal Liscencing and Standards, Solid Waste Management, Transportation and Public Health, among other parts of the City.

The most significant cuts include closing all community centers on Mondays, laying off seasonal litter pickers two weeks early and reducing street cleaning, cancelling road repairs, deferring green roof projects and cancelling public health programs for new parents and people trying to quit smoking. Many other services will take longer to receive than they do now.

It’s expected 3,000 workers will be impacted through reduced hours and earlier than expected layoffs.

Through the afternoon I’ll provide more detail on the cuts announced and provide analysis.

After the formal press conference concluded, Councillor Adam Vaughan got into a war of words with Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong in the middle of a media scrum. Vaughan took offense to Minnan-Wong misleading the media and the public with facts that he knows are half-truths or out right lies. The arguement lasted more than five minutes with Vaughan questioning Minnan-Wong’s work ethic and Minnan-Wong slagging Vaughan for dividing his time between his duties as councillor with his CityTV show.

When that arguement began to cool, Councillor Howard Moscoe jumped in to ask Minnan-Wong if he would vote to cut all snow shoveling service in North York. Moscoe didn’t receive a response. Then it was Councillor Glen De Baeremaeker’s turn to jump in, accusing Minnan-Wong of using politics his of deception to force the closure of libraries and community centers.

Source

Categories: Miscellaneous