RUNNING OUT THE CLOCK

After gruelling day at city hall, Toronto residents know Tory’s headed out, taxes headed up!

For those of you who have been living under a rock, the City of Toronto was shocked by the sudden announcement that their beloved Mayor, John Tory, who was just re-elected for a third term, announced 13 days ago that he is resigning from his Mayor post. Mr. Tory decided to get ahead of the story before it was leaked by the Toronto Star.

He admitted to an inappropriate affair with someone who worked in his office.

Addressing the media at a hastily called news conference 13 days ago, Tory said he made a serious error in judgment and apologized to the city and to his wife of more than 40 years.

“During the pandemic, I developed a relationship with an employee in my office in a way that did not meet the standards to which I hold myself as mayor and as a family man,” he said. “As a result, I have decided that I will step down as mayor so that I can take the time to reflect on my mistakes and to do the work of rebuilding the trust of my family.”

The relationship started during a period when he and his wife were apart for lengthy periods due to his work handling the COVID pandemic, Tory said.

He said the staff member left his office and sought other employment during the relationship, which has since ended.

Mayor John Tory submitted his official letter of resignation effective this past Friday at 5 p.m.  There was talk amongst people, that Tory may decide to stay on after admitting to his extra marital affair but that is now not the case.

In a statement issued a week ago Wednesday, Tory said he will spend the next few days working to ensure an orderly transition.

His departure triggers a mayoral by-election.

“I want to thank the people of Toronto for trusting me  as mayor since 2014,” he said.

“I continue to be deeply sorry and apologize unreservedly to the people of Toronto and to all those hurt by my actions without exception. This has been the job of a lifetime, and while I have let many people, including myself, down in this instance, I have nonetheless been deeply honored by the opportunity to serve the people of this wonderful city for more than eight years and I hope I achieved some good for the city I truly love.”

The announcement came after a lengthy council meeting that passed the 2023 budget.

Toronto residential property owners learned Wednesday they’ll be getting a 7% combined property and city building tax hike this year. The hike means an average home assessed at $695,268 would pay $183 more in property taxes and an additional $50 for the city building fund in $2023, for a total tax bill of $3,569.

Council debated the 2023 city budget late into the evening, eventually passing it without substantial changes and Tory said he would not need to use strong mayor powers to ensure the document remained largely as he proposed.

Tory described the fiscal blueprint as “the best budget for these times” given the financial challenges.

“I think the combination of rising inflation, fuel costs, interest rate hikes, supply chain challenges and increased shelter costs, decreased TTC fare box revenues – all of this coming at the same time as growing human need made this a very difficult budget,”

Tory said, adding community safety and housing affordability also increased the pressure on the budget.

“The budget protects front line services. It keeps increases borne by taxpayers as low as possible.”

A motion by Toronto Councillor Shelly Carroll to spend more on priorities such as keeping a city-run warming center open longer into the cold season won the support of the council.

Toronto Councillor Stephen Holyday had asked council to put more money into the tree maintenance budget and other priorities, using money it planned to spend on renaming Dundas St., but that was rejected.