All Entries Tagged With: "finances"
Levy: Candidates, Read Financial Statements
In her column for the Toronto Sun, Sue-Ann Levy suggests that the city’s recently released consolidated financial statements be required reading for all mayoral candidates:
“What the statements show is a city rich in assets — land, buildings, vehicles, roads, watermains and transit lines — but one that is extremely cash poor, with a net debt [...]
Lorinc: Subway Sarah’s Tunnel Vision
John Lorinc uses his weekly Spacing column to dissect the numbers on Sarah Thomson’s policy platform to expand the subway system:
“Point is, Thomson can spin her subway visions until she’s blue in the face, and the think tanks can keep cranking out those headline-grabbing gridlock/smog studies. But in the end, only [...]
Star Op-Ed: Selling Off Toronto Assets Makes No Sense
In the editorial pages of the Toronto Star, two economists from the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Canadian Auto Workers lay out the case for why Toronto’s mayoral candidates should think twice about pledging any sale of public assets:
“From a balance sheet perspective, simply selling an asset cannot improve the government’s net [...]
Minnan-Wong Not Running For Mayor
As noted on TEN a few weeks ago, Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong has decided not to run for mayor, instead filing to run for re-election in Ward 34:
“I want to focus on having a better managed city,” [Minnan-Wong] said. “We have to make the city more affordable.”
While Mayor David Miller has often said you can’t [...]
Hume: The Insider Finds Himself On The Outs
Star urban affairs columnist Christopher Hume thinks Toronto voters are not giving mayoral candidate Joe Pantalone the consideration he deserves:
“Pantalone’s single greatest strength – his insider knowledge of how government really works – is now his obvious weakness. Angry and frustrated, voters would rather punish government than fix it. And though there’s [...]
Gurney: Miller Deserves Praise. Seriously.
Writing in the National Post, columnist Matt Gurney thinks that compared to other levels of government, Mayor David Miller and his surplus should be applauded:
“The crazy thing about all this is that, compared with the clowns currently running the show in Ottawa and Queen’s Park, Miller actually looks pretty good on this one. [...]
Miller: Comments On City Spending “Ludicrous”
Mayor David Miller has indirectly responded to mayoral candidates George Smitherman, Rocco Rossi, Sarah Thomson and Giorgio Mammoliti as well as the Toronto Board of Trade for their comments this week on the city’s financial position:
“The truth of the matter is that the city spending has grown very modestly over the last few years, at [...]
Rossi Addresses Toronto Board of Trade, Slams Smitherman
This afternoon, mayoral candidate Rocco Rossi addressed a Toronto Board of Trade lunchtime audience to discuss his ideas for how to manage the city’s finances. Accordingly, his speech was entitled “Let this be our last budget crisis.” From the Board’s website:
“Getting Toronto back on track, the central theme of Mr. Rossi’s speech, stuck close [...]
Pantalone: City Cannot Afford An Outsider Mayor
At the opening of his campaign office, Deputy Mayor and mayoral candidate Joe Pantalone gave some specifics on what may be in his eventual platform and why Toronto cannot afford someone who hasn’t been intimately involved in municipal government:
“Torontonians cannot afford, if you want to protect this amazing city, people who don’t know how it [...]
Mammoliti Courts Seniors With Promise To End Property Tax
Mayoral candidate Giorgio Mammoliti will soon unveil a major plank in his platform: eliminating property taxes for seniors in Toronto:
“A campaign source said eliminating property taxes for Torontonians over the age of 65 will be the main plank of Mr. Mammoliti’s platform, to be unveiled at a glitzy dinner and dance tomorrow night.
The veteran councillor [...]
Smitherman Fine-Tunes Emerging Platform
Mayoral candidate George Smitherman kicked off the “Discussions @ The Bistro” series at well-known dining establishment Bistro 990 by expanding details on his campaign platform:
“Smitherman said voters have lost patience with a municipal government that wants them to pay more in taxes for fewer services, earning cheers from audience of 80.
At $125 a ticket, [...]
James: Joe Pantalone Born Again As Tightwad
Royson James writes in his column that with the 2010 Budget, Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone has begun the process of differentiating himself from the current administration:
“Mayoral candidate Joe Pantalone, Miller’s right-hand man, says the era of budget expansion would end if he moves from deputy to man in charge at 100 Queen St. W.
“Miller’s [...]
First Task For New Mayor: Get Spending Under Control
Chief Economist for TD Don Drummond and Toronto Board of Trade CEO Carol Wilding have penned a guest op-ed in the Toronto Star on the key fiscal priorities for the next mayor, regardless of whom that may be:
“Toronto taxpayers are facing a $9.2 billion budget that includes a 2.5 per cent overall property tax increase [...]
Stintz: Toronto Needs Fiscal Responsibility
In her weekly blog posting, Ward 16 Councillor Karen Stintz offers her thoughts on the City’s budgeting process and constant request for funding from upper levels of government:
“I believe the city will realize its full potential when it can be financially stable and sets a goal to do what is necessary to achieve financial independence.
When [...]
James: Is City Really As Broke As It Says?
At The Star, columnist Royson James is skeptical of the 2010 budget which David Miller’s summarizes as “lowest taxes, unbeatable services, great city”:
“It’s an impossible fiscal formula the mayor is selling. No city has managed to pull off such a trick. Since Houdini started paying annual visits to Toronto city hall in 1991, introducing voodoo [...]
Candidates Weigh In On City’s Books
All attention at City Hall yesterday was focused on the 2010 City Budget, which came in balanced after a tax hike, more user fees and some cuts to services. The mayoral candidates offer their views:
“Joe Pantalone: “When I become mayor, it would be my intention that the unsustainable parts (of the budget) will disappear. We’ve [...]
Levy: How To Fix Toronto’s Budget Woes
Sun columnist Sue-Ann Levy asked various mayoral candidates how they would deal with the City’s tough budgetary situation:
“There is a $500-million deficit projected with few options left to balance the books. The city’s reserve funds are depleted and it would be political suicide to raise taxes much beyond inflation in an election year. With this [...]
