Library board scrambles to cut, as business lobby urges a tax hike

City councillors on the Toronto Public Library board are pulling out all the stops to cut expenses by $7 million without reducing library hours.
The board has already cut $10 million from its budget but must find a further $7 million to reach the 10 per cent budget reduction sought by Mayor Rob Ford’s administration.
Ford allies on the board have ideas on how to get there, to be aired Thursday morning at a meeting of the executive committee:
Councillor Cesar Palacio wants to eliminate DVDs and magazines to save $1.7 million. Councillor Jaye Robinson would look at boosting revenues by, for example, charging for parking at branches near the subway and selling ads on date-due slips.
Councillor Michele Berardinetti will propose bringing in a consultant to look for efficiencies, using funds already allocated to the city manager’s office for consultants.
But the board’s chair, Ford ally Councillor Paul Ainslie, said the library will still have to cut hours to achieve a further $7 million in savings. He said it wouldn’t be a terrible thing to close branches when usage is low, for example on Monday mornings.
Meanwhile, the leading voice of Toronto business is urging city council to raise property taxes and TTC fares a little more than proposed, arguing the “responsible move” would prevent some damaging service cuts.
The Toronto Board of Trade says hiking property taxes by 3 per cent, rather than Ford’s proposed 2.5 per cent, and TTC fares by 15 cents, rather than 10, would let Toronto remain competitive. “Boosting revenue according to this fair and reasonable framework would easily pay for other recommendations,” the board’s report to council said.