The Cheat Sheet: October 8 City Council

It’s the first council meeting since the summer break, so we’ve got a pretty hefty agenda! Here’s a sampling of items worth watching out for. Did I miss anything? Let me know.

The big ticket

Budget

  • This year’s budget process gave standing committees the opportunity to weigh in on the state of various City services and make recommendations to the Budget Committee. Community Recreation and Development Committee has a host of recommendations that include expanding youth drop-ins, Priority Centres, and swimming programs; maintaining programming hours at Priority Centres; and maintaining the target for affordable housing. Give the whole thing a look-through.

Transit

The great outdoors

Poverty issues

  • The 2013 Street Needs Assessment is out! You can read the results here (PDF). This year they began to track LGBTQ and veteran status, and the findings are depressing!

  • City staff say that new federal funding formula requirements will hobble the Toronto Youth Job Corps program, which provides employment supports for at-risk youth.

  • So this year the provincial government phased out the Community Start-up and Maintenance Benefit (CSUMB), a chunk of cash that people on social assistance could use to pay housing costs if they were moving off the streets or out of long-term care, or to prevent eviction. They replaced it with the slightly crappier Housing Stabilization Fund (HSF). Staff are updating Council on how the transition has gone and are requesting that the unused HSF funding go to a new emergency housing allowance. Do read their report (PDF) for more information on how it will work, who will be eligible, etc.

Middle-class issues

Upper-middle-class issues

Miscellaneous


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p>There you have it: pretty much everything worth paying attention to. I’ll see you at Council! Until then: good night, Night Vale #TOpoli, good night.

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