Walter
11-24-2005, 06:59 AM
...and it also fosters a lack of initiative. I agree with Sue Ann there should be term limits for politicians.
By SUE-ANN LEVY
I had to laugh yesterday when the chair of the mayor's handpicked "Governing Toronto" advisory panel billed their changes as "bold, new and dramatic" for city council.
"The status quo is not an option," said Centennial College president Ann Buller while unveiling a plan that will do precious little, in my view, to break the deadlock one constantly experiences with Toronto's dysfunctional council.
If the "status quo" is indeed not an option, there's one thing that has become a constant around City Hall -- the ability of the mayor and his minions to fritter away great sums of public money on deep thinking sessions even as they fumble about with a $500-million deficit this year.
This five-month exercise cost $63,000, which included $2,400 to rent a swanky meeting room at the Fairmont Royal York hotel to present the panel report yesterday.
In fairness, Buller and her two panel members did volunteer their time, but I can't understand why they needed to rent a hotel room to present their work when there's plenty of space at City Hall. "It was to show we were independent," Buller said.
Yet exactly two hours later Buller and her team turned up at City Hall to brief councillors and six-figure officials.
It was at this briefing that Mayor David Miller lauded the panel's 51-page report, calling it a "superb piece of work."
Why would he not be happy? His thumb prints are all over it.
The mayor got exactly what he wanted from the recommendations in this report -- all the power to put his handpicked minions in place and a structure that allows him to pass off accountability to someone else.
Miller's made no secret that he's not a fan of a strong mayor system, such as that in Chicago or New York City, where mayors have wide-ranging authority but it's also clear the buck stops with them. The panel is not in favour of that model.
But the panel did suggest the mayor be given the power to appoint members of the standing committees and executive committee, set strategic directions for council and lead the budget process -- which formalizes what he does now.
Perhaps I'm not one of those deep thinkers who have themselves convinced they're charting a new vision for this city. But you'd think if Buller and Co. really wanted to be "bold and dramatic" they'd have taken a look at the make-up of the board of directors -- city council -- who are supposed to set the strategic direction of the city and its $7-billion budget.
This council doesn't need 44 members -- a point repeatedly proven when votes are taken at council and at least 25% of councillors are missing in action. Only 20 councillors turned up for the briefing yesterday.
I'd be all for increasing councillor pay to well over $100,000 -- maybe that would attract some decent candidates -- but only if they shave their numbers by half.
Yet when asked whether there was any consideration given to downsizing the numbers, Buller responded that the people they spoke with felt council needed to be even bigger (!) and rarely had anyone talked about shrinking the numbers.
"I think it (council) can work," she said.
The panel proposed a four-year term for councillors instead of three years but conceded they didn't address term limits at all. "We were really looking at the structures and processes," Buller said.
Coun. Doug Holyday was livid with the report, calling it a waste of $63,000. "They (the panelists) say the status quo is unacceptable but that's exactly what they're proposing," he said. "They suggest the same sized council with the mayor having more say on who gets appointed."
In my view, there are far too many members of this council who've been in municipal politics for too long.
To conclude, here's my list of those who've overstayed their welcome: Joe Mihevc, Gerry Altobello, Maria Augimeri, Suzan Hall, Gloria Lindsay Luby, Giorgio Mammoliti, Peter LiPreti, Frank DiGiorgio, Bill Saundercook, Caesar Palacio, David Shiner, Cliff Jenkins, Paula Fletcher, Janet Davis, Denzil Minnan-Wong, Glenn DeBaeremaeker, Norm Kelly, Raymond Cho, Gay Cowbourne, Mark Grimes, Mike Feldman, Howard Moscoe, John Filion, Kyle Rae.
By SUE-ANN LEVY
I had to laugh yesterday when the chair of the mayor's handpicked "Governing Toronto" advisory panel billed their changes as "bold, new and dramatic" for city council.
"The status quo is not an option," said Centennial College president Ann Buller while unveiling a plan that will do precious little, in my view, to break the deadlock one constantly experiences with Toronto's dysfunctional council.
If the "status quo" is indeed not an option, there's one thing that has become a constant around City Hall -- the ability of the mayor and his minions to fritter away great sums of public money on deep thinking sessions even as they fumble about with a $500-million deficit this year.
This five-month exercise cost $63,000, which included $2,400 to rent a swanky meeting room at the Fairmont Royal York hotel to present the panel report yesterday.
In fairness, Buller and her two panel members did volunteer their time, but I can't understand why they needed to rent a hotel room to present their work when there's plenty of space at City Hall. "It was to show we were independent," Buller said.
Yet exactly two hours later Buller and her team turned up at City Hall to brief councillors and six-figure officials.
It was at this briefing that Mayor David Miller lauded the panel's 51-page report, calling it a "superb piece of work."
Why would he not be happy? His thumb prints are all over it.
The mayor got exactly what he wanted from the recommendations in this report -- all the power to put his handpicked minions in place and a structure that allows him to pass off accountability to someone else.
Miller's made no secret that he's not a fan of a strong mayor system, such as that in Chicago or New York City, where mayors have wide-ranging authority but it's also clear the buck stops with them. The panel is not in favour of that model.
But the panel did suggest the mayor be given the power to appoint members of the standing committees and executive committee, set strategic directions for council and lead the budget process -- which formalizes what he does now.
Perhaps I'm not one of those deep thinkers who have themselves convinced they're charting a new vision for this city. But you'd think if Buller and Co. really wanted to be "bold and dramatic" they'd have taken a look at the make-up of the board of directors -- city council -- who are supposed to set the strategic direction of the city and its $7-billion budget.
This council doesn't need 44 members -- a point repeatedly proven when votes are taken at council and at least 25% of councillors are missing in action. Only 20 councillors turned up for the briefing yesterday.
I'd be all for increasing councillor pay to well over $100,000 -- maybe that would attract some decent candidates -- but only if they shave their numbers by half.
Yet when asked whether there was any consideration given to downsizing the numbers, Buller responded that the people they spoke with felt council needed to be even bigger (!) and rarely had anyone talked about shrinking the numbers.
"I think it (council) can work," she said.
The panel proposed a four-year term for councillors instead of three years but conceded they didn't address term limits at all. "We were really looking at the structures and processes," Buller said.
Coun. Doug Holyday was livid with the report, calling it a waste of $63,000. "They (the panelists) say the status quo is unacceptable but that's exactly what they're proposing," he said. "They suggest the same sized council with the mayor having more say on who gets appointed."
In my view, there are far too many members of this council who've been in municipal politics for too long.
To conclude, here's my list of those who've overstayed their welcome: Joe Mihevc, Gerry Altobello, Maria Augimeri, Suzan Hall, Gloria Lindsay Luby, Giorgio Mammoliti, Peter LiPreti, Frank DiGiorgio, Bill Saundercook, Caesar Palacio, David Shiner, Cliff Jenkins, Paula Fletcher, Janet Davis, Denzil Minnan-Wong, Glenn DeBaeremaeker, Norm Kelly, Raymond Cho, Gay Cowbourne, Mark Grimes, Mike Feldman, Howard Moscoe, John Filion, Kyle Rae.