Nov 25, 2013
By Jane Brown
The City of Toronto’s 2014 budget will be unveiled by city staff today as councillors on the budget committee meet for the first time since Mayor Rob Ford was stripped of most of his powers. It’s not clear whether the Mayor will even attend, but his brother, Councillor Doug Ford is on the committee. The Mayor has pushed for no more than a 1.75 percent property tax increase, which includes a 0.5 percent increase for the Scarborough subway extension. But Budget Chief Frank Di Giorgio says that figure is not possible without significant cuts in services. Council has already approved hiring new paramedics and expanding priority centres in the city. Under the new power structure, Mayor Ford’s comments no longer carry any weight. It’s Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly’s opinion that matters. And Di Giorgio says Kelly has indicated he will be more receptive to what city staff is proposing than Mayor Ford.
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