Ford to spend millions on management consultants
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Raise taxes if not enough? Yes easy solution. Lets tax the private sector more to pay for the public sector....good plan.He looks like he has eaten his share of gravy and more.....but the important thing is to carefully monitor all spending: is it legit, open tendered, the best deal? and also all councillors and city bureaucrats should be watched closely for kickbacks. isCut the waste , maintain services, and if that ain't enuf, raise taxes. If you cut services, those kids in the ghetto with no future will swell in numbers, and where will all the rich hide?
I disagree that Rob Ford is incapable of finding the waste. First of all our Harvard schooled former mayor treated Toronto as his personal Fiefdom! He and his cronies did not care about the taxpayers, and this culture permeated every agency and office in the city. We need a person who has a business background and we badly need someone to lead a culture change not only financially (the trough of taxpayer's money is bottomless or spend it or we lose it), and the city workers need to realize that they are providing a service and we are the customers.
Someone made a comment that only 50 million was found. This is the tip of the iceberg, and every dollar saved is another dollar that does not have to come out of taxpayer’s pockets. The city’s agencies and offices are bloated with employees and with few exceptions employees are not working very hard given the mentality that they have a job for life. Cutting staff does not mean cutting services. I am sure that dedicated hard working employees can more than make up for the many employees who do not care anything more than their next pay check or how can I benefit by awarding this contract. The beaches food contract is a huge example of someone who got a sweetheart deal. I wonder why? Also many people have created well paying full time jobs for themselves and friends taking care of such issues as the homeless. What we spend on this issue is outrageous.
Miller was a disaster and good riddance to him and his cronies. However don't worry about them they have made lots of friends around the world, focusing not on bettering Toronto, but on how good do I look on camera, and what type of desert should they have with their steak on the numerous conferences they attended. Adam G. got a cushy transit job in Europe, and all I can say is they better not put a couch in his office.
Give Rob Ford a chance and a little time, and he will get the job done. These consultants will only get paid if the produce savings. In the old days under "King" David Miller consultants got paid whether or not they produced results. I am tired of the left saying look out for the “hidden agenda”. King David danced to the tune of the unions, and this will stop. Unions have become too powerful, and they have deep coffers thanks to the closed shops and the high union dues employees have no choice but to pay. In many cases, good employees are discouraged in union environments. The fair wage policy has cost the city adding greatly to the cost of getting things done. Look at the time and money wasted on Bloor Street being under construction for years with the streets being dug up 3 or 4 times.
Am I saying that every city employee is a problem, of course not but I am sure that many of them are! I have nothing but respect for our fire, police, and ambulance front line staff, but I lost a little respect for the emergency services personal who allowed a man to die because they were playing union politics and making some excuse for waiting a block away while his life drained away. This is the culture that needs to change. Shame! Shame! Shame!
Bottom line we need to think outside the box and revisit how the city provides services. We need to focus on key core issues of running a clean and safe city, and not worry about how many cars are parking in someone’s driveway.
Someone made a comment that only 50 million was found. This is the tip of the iceberg, and every dollar saved is another dollar that does not have to come out of taxpayer’s pockets. The city’s agencies and offices are bloated with employees and with few exceptions employees are not working very hard given the mentality that they have a job for life. Cutting staff does not mean cutting services. I am sure that dedicated hard working employees can more than make up for the many employees who do not care anything more than their next pay check or how can I benefit by awarding this contract. The beaches food contract is a huge example of someone who got a sweetheart deal. I wonder why? Also many people have created well paying full time jobs for themselves and friends taking care of such issues as the homeless. What we spend on this issue is outrageous.
Miller was a disaster and good riddance to him and his cronies. However don't worry about them they have made lots of friends around the world, focusing not on bettering Toronto, but on how good do I look on camera, and what type of desert should they have with their steak on the numerous conferences they attended. Adam G. got a cushy transit job in Europe, and all I can say is they better not put a couch in his office.
Give Rob Ford a chance and a little time, and he will get the job done. These consultants will only get paid if the produce savings. In the old days under "King" David Miller consultants got paid whether or not they produced results. I am tired of the left saying look out for the “hidden agenda”. King David danced to the tune of the unions, and this will stop. Unions have become too powerful, and they have deep coffers thanks to the closed shops and the high union dues employees have no choice but to pay. In many cases, good employees are discouraged in union environments. The fair wage policy has cost the city adding greatly to the cost of getting things done. Look at the time and money wasted on Bloor Street being under construction for years with the streets being dug up 3 or 4 times.
Am I saying that every city employee is a problem, of course not but I am sure that many of them are! I have nothing but respect for our fire, police, and ambulance front line staff, but I lost a little respect for the emergency services personal who allowed a man to die because they were playing union politics and making some excuse for waiting a block away while his life drained away. This is the culture that needs to change. Shame! Shame! Shame!
Bottom line we need to think outside the box and revisit how the city provides services. We need to focus on key core issues of running a clean and safe city, and not worry about how many cars are parking in someone’s driveway.
He was asked repeatedly during the election campaign to clarify where this overspending was, and he wasn't able to do so then, and he's not able to do so now. The things he pointed out when he was a councillor in the past were always minor, trivial expenses--like cancelling free metropasses for councillors. That saves what? A few dollars?Curious36 said:He is a business owner...as such he KNOWS how to save money. He also has pointed out glaringly blatent overspending by the previous regime time and time again while being a councilor.
No, he hasn't ever demonstrated that he has any idea to save the hundreds of millions that he claims can be saved. It's all just hot air.
Again, unless you take on the unions and their fat pay packages you simply can't make the sort of difference he claims. Period. And Rob Ford has already indicated that he is going to increase union pay packets, not decrease them.
No. I'm simply pointing out that he has no idea, and no plan.The guy has been at the helm for about 4 months and you expect him to have everything fixed by now?
Note that "essential service" also means they can't be locked out, and I think your expectation for arbitration in the future should be what it was in the past--the TTC's over generous pay packet will not only continue, it will expand.I agree with essential service status of TTC in the fact that they cannot hold us hostage on wage increases etc but lets hope the arbitrators take into account ability of taxpayers to pay (which they havent in the past).
And what will happen to the people living in TCHC units?
i guess they pay their rent and go about their lives.
Not so. You've offered no references, details or names to back up your claims except with total puffery and bluster. You're taking a page out of Woodie's Hilroy for windbags.a habit of being right? thanks, br13
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what happened to their rent money?And if they don't have money for rent?
Subsidized housing exists because they never had it. It's OK if you want to propose a different solution to the problem, but proposing NO solution to the problem just shows lack of insight.what happened to their rent money?
Some have suggested that instead of running buildings TCHC should use its budget to subsidize rents in commercially operated buildings, which is a different solution to the problem. A different approach would be to transfer TCHC's budget to the welfare program, and provide more cash to low income families to put into rent or whatever else.
You appear to be saying, "Cut that program that other people benefit from, and put more money into a program that benefits me", without regard to the issues faced by others.
given that the budget increased by 3 billion over a five year period- i gotta think that savings can be foundIf the consultants find 4 million dollars of waste then its a win for Ford.
If they DON'T then its a WIN for the civil servants.
I see this as spending $3M to make sure that another $9,297M is properly spent.
I can't imagine the civil servants are too happy.
you can twist my words any way you want, if thats what makes you happy.Subsidized housing exists because they never had it. It's OK if you want to propose a different solution to the problem, but proposing NO solution to the problem just shows lack of insight.
Some have suggested that instead of running buildings TCHC should just subsidize rents, which is a different solution to the problem. Or perhaps you could propose some sort of job creation programme, or increase to welfare funding, or who knows what.
You appear to be saying, "Cut that program that other people benefit from, and put more money into a program that benefits me", without regard to the issues faced by others.
Where by "win" you mean "the size of the problem is much smaller than expected".If the consultants find 4 million dollars of waste then its a win for Ford.
But if that's all he finds he's not entitled to claim that his rolling back of various taxes, and his outlandish claims of gravy, were justified.He gets to claim he still trimmed the fat.
Trust me ... the consultants are going to find more than $3 million in "waste". That's what consultants do. They aren't going to charge $3 mil and then admit they couldn't find anything.If the consultants find 4 million dollars of waste then its a win for Ford.
If they DON'T then its a WIN for the civil servants.
I see this as spending $3M to make sure that another $9,297M is properly spent.
I can't imagine the civil servants are too happy.
This is a fairly simple economic game. The consultants will inevitably make recommendations to significantly cut spending regardless of the effect on services. Their primary motive will be to suggest cuts that have detrimental results that either aren't easy to measure or will take some time to be felt.
Of course, the people whom the consultants interview will know this and will try to inflate their own importance and the budgetary needs of their own department so that the axe will fall on someone else.
They need to find a way to make an income. Subsidizing people for generations is not healthy. It builds resentment in taxpayers, and it develops a poor self image for the recipients. I'm tired of people living in fully subsidized units for generations, and not working, while others bust their ass for minimum wage, and live in a basement, yet do not expect everybody else to pick up the tab for them.And if they don't have money for rent?
What would you propose then? In Canada we generally do believe in helping people get back on their feet, rather than grinding a boot into their face when they're down. If you are one of those who believes in grinding a boot in the face of the poor--well I bet even a majority of Rob Ford supporters don't agree with you. Even Mike Harris set out to improve the fortunes of the poor via program spending, on work for welfare schemes for example, rather than simply giving them the finger.They need to find a way to make an income.
For one thing myopic "fuck you, get a job or starve" approaches tend to fail the children of the poor. It's one thing to punish someone for not getting a job--it's another thing to deny their children any sort of viable future too. That just perpetuates poverty.
Certainly we could have a productive discussion about whether some OTHER program would be a better way of helping these people, but simply saying to heck with them, let them starve--not a productive discussion, nor will it ever be the way things are done in Canada.
Let's face facts. The current system is broken, really broken. No one is saying that we should let kids starve, so you can stop your fear mongering.What would you propose then? In Canada we generally do believe in helping people get back on their feet, rather than grinding a boot into their face when they're down. If you are one of those who believes in grinding a boot in the face of the poor--well I bet even a majority of Rob Ford supporters don't agree with you. Even Mike Harris set out to improve the fortunes of the poor via program spending, on work for welfare schemes for example, rather than simply giving them the finger.
For one thing myopic "fuck you, get a job or starve" approaches tend to fail the children of the poor. It's one thing to punish someone for not getting a job--it's another thing to deny their children any sort of viable future too. That just perpetuates poverty.
Certainly we could have a productive discussion about whether some OTHER program would be a better way of helping these people, but simply saying to heck with them, let them starve--not a productive discussion, nor will it ever be the way things are done in Canada.
Efficiency is what we need desperately at city hall right now. If the debt can be paid, then we stop throwing tax dollars away to service the interest on the debt, and perhaps some of that money can later go to those who are at a disadvantage.
Rob Ford is on the right track. The consultants will make recommendations, and we will have to stomach some cut backs. Either way, we will survive.
As for Toronto Community Housing, the whole system needs to be revamped..I would rather give people vouchers, and let them find their own housing, rather than continually fund a system that is broken, and pay salaries to government administrators. The vouchers could be a couple of hundred dollars that would be a top up to welfare cheques. People could make their own decisions where to live, and you would have fewer ghettos.
Eventually, people need to get back on their feet though. Giving money simply for existing is not money well spent, and promotes laziness, and a "woe is me mentality".
Work for crying out loud! Even its temporary, or part time. It will build self-esteem. There is no excuse except for health reasons why people should not be at least trying to find work. The whole welfare system is full of whiners, and cheats. I used to work by one of the area welfare offices, and would see people come to pick up their cheques in taxi's! I guess the bus was beneath them. I know mothers who continually have more kids to make more on welfare. Its become a lifestyle for some.
At the very least, do some volunteer work, and help out the community. Do something for the money you are getting!
