On Tuesday, September 27th, City Council voted on a complicated set of recommendations about which city services to cut, which to keep and which to revisit through the budget process in the fall. See the final decision document on the City website.
Thanks to many Torontonians who spoke up, Councillors mostly stopped attempts to cut important environmental services at this meeting.
Environmental Services Cut:
- Tree Canopy targets reduced
- Horticultural activities
Environmental Services Saved:
- Community Environment Days
Services to Review in 2012 Budget Process:
- TTC over-crowding policies
- Toronto Atmospheric Fund
- Toronto Environment Office
- Reducing waste diversion targets
2012 Budget
The focus now moves to the City's 2012 budget process which begins in mid November when the Mayor presents his budget.
What we know today is that this budget will contain 10% cuts to all city services. What we won't know until mid November is whether the Mayor has additional cuts to environmental programs in mind, specifically to the Toronto Atmospheric Fund and the Toronto Environment Office.
Once the budget is presented, the public will have an opportunity to comment on any proposed cuts. The final vote on these cuts and the entire budget take place at the January 17th, 2011 City Council meeting.
Next Steps
TEA will continue monitoring City Hall and let Torontonians know what environmental services are being threatened.
In the meantime, if you haven't done so yet, please sign our petition asking Councillors not to cut important environmental services.