I am going through a bit of a Thing and almost considered skipping this month. I’m not, obviously, but please forgive me if this month’s preview is a bit lackluster. Anyway, without further ado, my picks from this month’s agenda. Continue reading The Cheat Sheet: June 10 City Council
Tag: housing
The Cheat Sheet: May 5 City Council
Just in time for my 30th birthday, I’m getting the best present ever: a City Council meeting! This month’s agenda is jam-packed with important items, so fix yourself a drink while you read this. Up for discussion: funding the Scarborough subway, diversity on the TTC board, a new City Manager, the social housing waitlist, (not) fixing basement flooding, and more. Continue reading The Cheat Sheet: May 5 City Council
The Cheat Sheet: Committee Meetings, Mar. 23-27
Here’s a quick overview of this week’s committee meetings at City Hall! Issues to watch for: shelter beds and affordable housing, election accessibility, ferry terminal designs, the Spadina subway extension, and more. Continue reading The Cheat Sheet: Committee Meetings, Mar. 23-27
Financial Facelift: Debt doubts cast shadow for world-class city with major expenses
Toronto chose to put low taxes ahead of infrastructure and services, but it has put her in a bit of a bind. She is 181 years old and has diverse thriving industries, a vibrant cultural scene, and well-loved municipal services like parks and libraries.
She has several major expenses, ranging from large-scale capital projects to everyday service improvements, all of which she wants to pay for without raising taxes or going into debt. As the nation’s economic hub, Toronto has substantial earning power — but she chooses to take in less revenue than she could. Continue reading Financial Facelift: Debt doubts cast shadow for world-class city with major expenses
I Read Reports So You Don’t Have To: Who’s Hungry 2014
The Cheat Sheet: August 25 City Council
Well, here we are at the last City Council meeting this term. I feel…sad? Sure, it’s been a fucked-up, dysfunctional four years, but it was never boring.
After the jump: the Ombudsman is mad as hell and isn’t going to take it anymore; mid-rise invasion; transit recommendations of varying utility; and more. You can find the full agenda here. Let me know in the comments if there’s anything I missed! Continue reading The Cheat Sheet: August 25 City Council
The Cheat Sheet: July 7 & 8 City Council
Monday’s City Council is actually a Special Meeting, and for once it’s not a transit debate that we’ll all walk out of hating everyone and everything. This time, Council will appoint fill-in councillors for Wards 5 and 20, vacant after councillors Milczyn and Vaughan levelled up to MPP and MP, respectively. You might see some familiar names on the list of candidates for Ward 5 and Ward 20. They include former Ford staffer Nico Fidani, cinephile urban legend Reg Hartt, and, uh, me. Yep. After saying on Keenan’s show that you couldn’t pay me to be Ward 20 councillor, I went and signed up, mostly as a joke…but upon consideration, I guess I know this beat pretty well.
The July City Council meeting proper starts Tuesday. (You’ll have gotten a preview of several of these items if you followed my Executive Committee livetweeting.) Here’s the full agenda and the livestream. My picks for items to watch are after the jump!
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!
The Cheat Sheet: April 1 City Council
April’s agenda is one of the busiest yet: the Billy Bishop airport expansion, the Gardiner Expressway, Neighbourhood Improvement Areas, and food trucks, as well as annual audits and grants. Plus, you’ll never guess which councillor wants to look into recall legislation…
The Cheat Sheet: Co-ops
It seems there has been some recent confusion about what exactly a housing co-operative is and how it works. This is understandable; co-ops are kind of an obscure subject. So here is my quick primer on what they are and how they work. I have greatly simplified things, and am working from my own experience living in and serving on the board of a small federal co-op. Continue reading The Cheat Sheet: Co-ops