Chalk one up for David Miller

For those who care about such matters, Toronto City Council is set to vote on Mayor David Miller's controversial new tax initiatives, or as the mayor likes to call them "revenue generating tools", today. While most of Toronto's punditocracy are hedging their bets by claiming the vote is too close to call, you can take this to the bank: the new taxes will be in effect at the end of tonight's council meeting.

---

The reason I am so cock-sure that the new taxes will be imposed, Miller's doomsday warnings if they are not enacted have put the fear of God into the majority of council members who are faced with the spiteful consequences the Mayor is promising if these new measures fail to pass. Most city councillors envision another three years of reduced essential services that make closing libraries and community centres on Mondays seem like a cakewalk compared to what a reduced police force and Grand Canyon-sized potholes in Toronto's roads will do the voters' temper. So they'll swallow the bitter pill of imposing a Sopranos-inspired tax on Torontonians once and hope the voters will get over it, instead of having to face voters hating their guts every day for the next three years until they can all be turfed out come next municipal election. Miller's insistence that he needs the monies generated by the new taxes to make the city run is a red-herring that's masking the real reason for enacting these new taxes, which is Toronto flexing its muscles in creating new revenue streams. Just last week Mayor Miller was holding forth in NOW Magazine about the importance of being able to generate municipal revenues from sources other than the measly property taxes being charged. Clearly David Miller has larger fish to fry and he is enlisting the might of a united Left in his quest for more money. What's interesting about this ploy is that last week the Toronto Sun's Sue Ann Levy, with the assistance of Toronto Councilor Michael Del Grande, found over $440 million in the city budget that could possibly be saved if the mayor and his lap dogs had the will. Miller dismissed the savings as being found through an increase in property taxes and spending the city's reserve funds. Those two items only accounted for less than 25% of the total package. There were 20 additional items that Miller didn't want to comment on; perhaps among the biggest was the Mayor's continued commitment to pay city staff and sub contractors' exorbitantly high wages. But what would one expect from a mayor who owes his job to the various public service unions and won't do anything to upset their apple cart no matter what. What's amazing to me is Council's absolute refusal to roll back their generous pay raises and tax-free benefits. The gusto with which leftist councillors have refused to even consider this small symbolic step is stunning, but no less so than the call by leftie councilor Giorgio Mammoliti to investigate councilors like Rob Ford for not spending enough of their office budgets! When these measures pass today it will be a clear signal to David Miller and his NDP spending machine that Toronto is ripe for the picking. This will spawn a plethora of additional new taxes including new municipal taxes on alcohol, cigarettes, gasoline, restaurant meals, theatre tickets, etc. With the predictable exodus of businesses departing for the greener pastures of the 905 area, Toronto truly stands a chance at actually becoming a Third World backwater. All thanks to Mayor David Miller.