AGAR: Unsaved millions mean residents don’t matter at city hall

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Over the weekend, Toronto budget chief Shelley Carroll conducted a mock budget session with listeners on Newstalk1010 Toronto and I give her credit for doing it.

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However, her response on just one issue should be instructive to any taxpayer in any city, town or territory in Canada.

She was asked why Toronto still adheres to a policy that only allows contracts — on an estimated $1.65 billion in construction — to companies whose workers belong to a group of favoured unions.

A Cardus report, Better Choices for Toronto: Finding Money in Open Tendering for Safety and Mental Health outlines the experience of the City of Hamilton, which ended its cozy deal with favoured unions in 2019. City officials there estimated saving 21% in construction costs because of that one move.

Using that information, Cardus estimated Toronto could save $347 million by reducing its infrastructure construction costs, even while maintaining its current pace of construction.

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That was two years ago.

Carroll brought up city hall’s obsession with wage scale, fair wages and high standards.
It is the contractor’s job to factor wages into the tender they offer.

Council’s job is to get value for money and negotiate a price that saves tax dollars while getting the job done.

Carroll said we might save $200 million, not a billion.

No one said a billion, first of all.

She disagrees with the Cardus number of $347 million in savings but how gobsmacking is it to have her say that $200 million is just not worth the effort?

How many tax dollars have to be thrown out the window for her to get concerned?

What reason is there for council to stay with their cozy contractor arrangement other than some sort of quid pro quo to councillors?

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Do any of those companies contribute to councillor campaigns? Do they do so financially or do workers volunteer to work with campaigns to go door knocking?

I have had anonymous insiders tell me that’s the case, but I have no actual proof that is the reason.

Can you name another one?

If they will not do something that has demonstrated in other cities to save money — on this one file — what other issues are they mismanaging?

No wonder, as reported more than once, that city workers feel comfortable not going to work, while lying on their work reports to claim they did work when they were goofing off at the mall.

No one is minding the store.

When a city council won’t do strong fiscal management, it takes the easy path and just raises taxes.

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Carroll demonstrated on Saturday that she is disinterested in saving money.

Carroll ended her answer to the listener’s question on contracting by saying the city might re-examine the issue in the future.

For what reason, if it hasn’t mattered for years?

A sudden fiscal awakening?

Bolting upright in bed from a dream in which a unicorn told councillors that citizens matter?

Miracles do happen. The Leafs may one day win the Stanley Cup.

When Carroll admits $200 million would be saved with a fair tendering process that allows all construction companies to vie for business, yet so casually blows it off, citizens don’t matter to city hall.

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