06 June 2012

Just something to think about...

...the next time you're signing that considerable municipal tax cheque...
-- TORONTO -- Let me put City Hall’s proposed merit pay scheme for its already highly paid 3,807 managers in perspective for a moment.

Does the $155,525 senior manager who presided over the Bloor Transformation project that went $4.4-million over budget and finished 1.5 years behind schedule deserve a bonus?

What about the senior city executive — pulling in $210,856 last year — who should be held accountable, and hasn’t been, for the as yet unfinished Homeless Hilton which has gone 100% over budget?

I wonder if a bonus is an automatic as well for the $115,213 senior bureaucrat who was busy crowing last week about all the awards the revitalized Nathan Phillips Square design has won already even as the project is costing $9-million more than originally budgeted and is at least 1 1/2 years behind schedule.

Even city manager Joe Pennachetti — who made $330,386 last year — should be asking himself why he deserves to be rewarded seeing as the review of the city’s anti-discrimination policy ordered by council last June will only now just appear on the June 12 executive committee.
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RELATED: Ask the Toronto Red Star...
"It’s never a good time to cut Toronto’s already-slim cadre of youth outreach workers. But slashing their number by almost 60 per cent after the Eaton Centre shooting spree that left one person dead and seven injured would be nothing short of irresponsible."
Yeah, more people working with... wait a minute...
Toronto politicians were shocked to hear the alleged Eaton Centre shooter had a City of Toronto job working with kids up until two weeks ago.

City councillors will vote as early as Thursday to order a review of the city’s policies when it comes to police background checks on employees who work with kids and other vulnerable populations.

The vote comes after the Toronto Sun first revealed Wednesday that Christopher Husbands — who is facing one charge of first-degree murder and six charges of attempted murder for Saturday’s shooting — worked from November 2011 until May 2012 in the after-school program at Stan Wadlow Clubhouse in East York.

Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti said he’s demanding the names of the managers who let Husbands continue to work without providing details of his criminal record.
Oops.