Ahead of 2023 City of Toronto budget deliberations which get underway Wednesday at city council, opponents say they will try to reverse TTC service cuts, add money to keep warming centres for homeless people open 24-7, and scrap the $48-million dollar budget boost for Toronto Police.

This is John Tory’s budget, and John Tory will be at council as mayor to support it, 5 days after he announced he would step down because of an affair with a former staff member in his office.

Budget Chief Gary Crawford told Zoomer Radio’s Fight Back with Libby Znaimer, he’s concerned about bridging the budget gap of nearly $1-billion if Tory does not stay on as mayor.

“If he’s not there at the helm, we will have some challenges as a city,” Crawford explained, “We will need a mayor who is strong, who has the ability to look at the intergovernmental relationships that are so needed and the work is going to be an incredible amount of work that will have to happen.”

John Tory has been working at Toronto City Hall this week, but has not publicly commented on the budget since announcing his intention to resign last Friday, or when and if he will resign amid pleas from some allies that he stay on.

Toronto residents are split on whether Tory should stay or go.

A new Forum Research poll found 45 percent of respondents do not think he should quit as Toronto’s mayor, 43 percent say he should quit and 11 percent are undecided.

Forum President Lorne Bozinoff will have more to say as a guest Wednesday on Fight Back with Libby Znaimer between noon and 1pm.