The Cheat Sheet: May 6 City Council

Guess what just happened? My birthday! And, in hobbit fashion, I have a gift for you: the Good Bits version of the upcoming City Council meeting agenda.

A few highlights: restricting campaign donation rebates; bringing EDM back to Exhibition Place; a new housing allowance program for seniors; and a proposal to appoint a Photo Laureate.

Edit: As usual, if I’ve made any mistakes or missed something important, let me know!

Good Governance

• The first item on the agenda will be expanding the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction to all City-owned corporations.

• One way city government has been shrinking is “gapping” — not filling staff positions when they become vacant. This has had a significant impact on Fleet Services, the department that maintains all the City vehicles. The Goverment Management committee suggests hiring more people before “key public services” start to suffer.

• The City of Toronto offers generous rebates to people who donate to municipal candidates; you can get as much as 75% back. Anyone who lives in Ontario can donate, and in fact a considerable amount of candidates’ funding comes from outside Toronto — meaning that a lot of rebate money doesn’t go to Torontonians. Cllr Mihevc suggests limiting rebates to Toronto residents and eligible voters ¹ (thanks Adam CF!).

• So, after all the hype about privatizing garbage collection, Green For Life isn’t getting their contract renewed, and Cllr Layton wants to know why. Edit: It’s probably because the Ministry of Transportation has downgraded their safety rating from “satisfactory” to “conditional”. Their violation rate is over 75%. Another edit: Staff have some less salacious reasons. Keenan goes all Nate Silver on the complaint statistics.

Rob Ford Stuff

Note: the mayor won’t actually be at this meeting, as to everyone’s surprise he announced he was going to rehab for a month. This became slightly less of a surprise when three separate reports of inappropriate behaviour surfaced immediately afterwards. This means 100% less dangerous press stampedes in the chamber. Edit: the mayor’s whereabouts are currently unknown.

• When former Ford ally Cllr Ainslie voted against the Scarborough subway last fall, the mayor got back at him by robocalling Ainslie’s constituents. The Integrity Commissioner has just concluded it was a Code of Conduct violation, and is requesting that the mayor apologize. In future, dude, just stick to holding down applications for minor zoning by-law variances in your enemies’ wards, okay?

• Mayor Ford doesn’t want the cost of constituency offices, newsletters, or staff phones coming out of the general expense budget. This means councillors would have to cut back on other office expenses — or, if they happen to be filthy rich, pay for it out of their own pocket. Democracy!

• In a deeply sketchy move, Exhibition Place’s board of directors voted to ban electronic dance music events. This effectively gives nightclub Muzik (which gets a lot of business from the mayor) a monopoly on parties. Cllr Layton would like to remind everyone that the City’s policy permits raves on City property so events can take place in a safe environment.

Housing

• At TCHC, the shit has hit the fan after the Ombudsman unearthed CEO Gene Jones’ shenanigans. If this results in City Council once again turfing the top brass for a plays-by-his-own-rules maverick, I swear to fucking God.

• So, uh, whatever happened to the Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness?

• When the province got rid of the CSUMB (Community Start-up and Maintenance Benefit) — money available to social assistance recipients moving off the street or relocating to better housing — the City created the HSF (Housing Stabilization Fund) to replace it. Two years on, we now have an extensive report on how people use it, what we can do better, and how bedbugs will eventually destroy us all.

• The City and the province are launching a new housing allowance program that will provide $400 a month to seniors who are homeless or precariously housed. It’s planned to run from 2014 to 2017.

Urban Planning

• That landlords get tax rebates for vacant storefronts has been a thorn in Torontonians’ sides for many years. The Economic Development committee wants to create incentives that would give local enterprises access to much-needed space.

• The Public Works committee is ramping up the War on the Car by endorsing the principle of “Complete Streets”.

• Do you have strong feelings on streetscaping along the Eglinton Crosstown? Then this item’s for you.

• Street furniture update: still shitty.

Miscellaneous

• The long-running program Youth Employment Toronto just had its federal funding cut, leaving a $400,000 shortfall. Cllr Mihevc wants to use the budget surplus to make up the difference.

• Scadding Court Community Centre at Dundas and Bathurst has swimming pools, childcare facilities, a library, and a fantastic little outdoor market run out of shipping containers. It also looks like it hasn’t gotten a fresh coat of paint since 1970. Now, like nearby Alexandra Park, it’s up for revitalization.

• Dang, Joe, you’re busy this month. Cllr Mihevc proposes creating the position of Photo Laureate, like our totally bomb-ass Poet Laureate, but with photography.