Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Public works committee plans $15M in cuts

Toronto's public works committee gave the go-ahead to a controversial series of cuts suggested by an independent accounting firm last week that included a reduction in street cleaning and snow removal, and an end to fluoride in the city's drinking water.

A 44-page report prepared for the city by KPMG identified about $15 million in savings out of the roughly $1-billion budget of the Public Works and Infrastructure division.

Other proposals included reducing the city's waste-diversion rate, trimming its cycling infrastructure and further privatization of garbage collection.

The committee endorsed all of the suggestions but exactly which services will be cut will be determined later.

In September, Mayor Rob Ford's executive committee will have the final say over which items are sent to city council.

Tough choices ahead


Public works chairman Denzil Minnan-Wong, said some of the more controversial recommendations likely won't be on the table.

"Some of the more difficult ones will include eliminating fluoride from the drinking water, the street sweeping and the snow removal is going to be a real challenge for the committee," the councillor said.

However, he said tough choices need to be made to rein in the city's massive budget shortfall.

"We have a $770-million dollar problem staring us in the face and we have to move aggressively to address that or there's going to be a massive tax increase," Minnan-Wong said.

Councillor Gord Perks said there isn't enough information to make such difficult decisions.

"These things actually matter to people and we need to have answers to that before we go forward with any kind of cuts at all," he said.

Some services 'needed'


Heather Marshall from the Toronto Environmental Alliance urged councillors to think carefully about which services to slash.

That includes a proposal to cut the city's community environment days, which Marshall said brings in more than 30 per cent of the total household waste each year.

"Clearly this is a much needed service and much used service," she said.

The city had set up an extra room to hold the hordes of angry citizens who were expected to show up, but only 26 speakers appeared.

Toronto is faced with a looming $774-million budget shortfall.

In the spring, the city kicked off a comprehensive review of all city services, how they are provided, and the fees people pay for them.

Earlier Monday another KPMG report suggested eliminating pet licensing and streamlining business licensing, as well as outsourcing animal care.

Origin
Source: CBC news 

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