Minor power outages in the Heathwood Subdivision

Our office has been made aware of several power short outages (or "flashoevers") in the Heathwood subdivision of the ward (between Birchmount and Kennedy, Steeles and McNicoll). Our office has contacted Toronto Hydro who are working actively to solve the issues. Below is an excerpt of Toronto Hydro's communication to our office, updating us on the issues at hand and the solutions they are providing:

The main issue is with a feeder. In the past it has been underground cable failures.

Late on December 21st (shortly after the outage at 11:30 PM reported by the Heathwood Community customer), a forced outage occurred that was found due to a severely burnt conductor lead, which has since been repaired. This may explain the multiple momentary outages that have occurred recently.

Our System Reliability staff will continue to monitor for further outages, and is pro-actively inspecting pad mounted switches to determine if flash-overs from those devices may also have contributed to these outages.

Our response staff believe they have found the problem equipment and will be ice blasting it on the 29th. To replace the equipment will take 4 to 8 hours to complete. Due to the cold weather the plan is to do this work next week. In the interim, staff are putting together a list of customers that will be effected with this planned outage repair work. When a firm date has been determined, notices will be couriered to these customers.

City News Release: City of Toronto gears up for winter

The first signs of snow have been spotted in Ward 39 in the past week, and the City of Toronto is ready to keep its streets clean. Find out more about what the City is doing to brave this winter below:

Emerald Ash Borer Update

Excerpted from the Fall 2011 Newsletter:

Emerald Ash Borer Update
On a sad note, I wish to inform you of the loss of many Ash trees in Ward 39. The Emerald Ash Borer insect continues to infect Ash trees in the entire City. Overall, an estimated 420,000 trees, which represents one third of Toronto’s entire tree canopy, will have to be destroyed.

If you have Ash trees on your property which are infected, you are responsible to remove them at your own cost. Should you wish to replace the trees that have to be removed, you could contact:

LEAF (Local Enhancement & Appreciation of Forests): they offer a Backyard Tree Planting Program that provides native trees and shrubs to homeowners in Toronto at a subsidized cost. Visit www.yourleaf.org for more information.

For healthy Ash trees on private property, there is a chemical compound that can be injected into the tree every other year to prolong its life. For more information on this process, please contact 311.

Toronto to host 2012 Ontario Summer Games

The City of Toronto will host the 2012 Ontario Summer Games from August 16 to 19, 2012. The 2012 Games will bring together almost 2,500 athletes competing in 28 sports in multiple venues across Toronto and surrounding regions, as well as 368 coaches, 113 managers, 281 officials, 21 provincial sport organization representatives, more than 1,000 volunteers and thousands of spectators. The Games are a unique opportunity for many young athletes, as the multi-sport competition serves as a stepping stone to many national and international competitions.

The Ontario Summer Games are still looking for volunteers, so please see their website for more details.

ANC House Basketball League

Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC) is creating a house basketball league and needs your help! They are looking for youth aged 13 - 21 as coaches, referees, and of course players. They will be recruiting people on Mondays and Wednesday starting November 14th.

For more information, please contact Ziggy Miller at 416-609-9393, or download this flyer for details.

Improved bus service in Ward 39

Below is an excerpt taken from a letter from the TTC to our office concerning bus service improvements, dated August 15th, 2011:

Improved Service on Bus Routes
TTC staff carefully monitor ridership levels and operational performance on all TTC bus routes and, working strictly within the budget limitations allowed us by the City, we make adjustments to service in order to ensure that passenger comfort and crowding are maintained at reasonable levels, and that the attractiveness and reliability of the services are kept as good as possible.

Over the past few years, we have made a number of service improvements on routes in your ward, and these include:

42 Cummer:

Service was increased in January 2011 in the morning and afternoon peak periods, and in the late evening from Monday to Friday. Service was also increased in September 2010 on Sunday mornings. These service increases were in response to increasing ridership, and they reduced crowding on this route.

199 Finch Rocket:

We are currently conducting detailed stop-by-stop ridership counts on this route, and we will complete an evaluation of the service change this fall. The evaluation will include consideration of changes to stops, including the possibility of adding the stop at Adirondack Gate/Wayside Avenue to the 199 Finch Rocket route. The decision as to whether this stop will be added back to 199 Finch Rocket express service will be based on several factors, including an analysis of up-to-date stop usage on the 39 Finch East route; the number of people using this stop since the introduction of the 199 Finch Rocket route; an evaluation of the overall travel time changes to customers at this stop, considering both the change in waiting time of the revised local service and the running time difference between the express and local service; and the ability of the 199 Finch Rocket route to accommodate additional customers and additional stops, given our current resource limitations.

43 Kennedy:

Various service increases have been made to this route. Starting in September 2011, significant increases in service will be made during the peak periods and midday from Monday to Friday. These increases are intended both to reduce crowding and also to improve the reliability of the service, by adding more time to the schedules. These changes are in addition to schedule adjustments made in September 2010 to better service Mary Ward Collegiate; increased service Sunday mornings in January 2008; increased service on Monday-Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons in February 2008; and increased service on Sunday late evenings in November 2008.

Budget Issues in Brief

Excerpted from the Fall 2011 Newsletter:

Budget Issues in Brief
I have outlined a few points below to help you understand the City's financial situation:

• Each year the City's costs rise by $200 million, just to cover inflation and payroll costs
• Each 1% increase in your property tax brings in $21 million in revenue for the City. To cover the above $200 million alone would require a 9.5% property tax increase.
• Even if Council did not spend a single cent this year, our debt - caused by the previous mayor's spending - would climb from $2.5 billion to $4.3 billion.
• By 2014, the annual cost to service this debt will rise from $430 million to $620 million.
• Half of our $9.3 billion Operating Budget is comprised of wage costs (totaling $4.7 billion). We currently have 53,000 people on the City's payroll.
• The City's Budget for 2012 has an opening shortfall of $774 million which is a significant amount. If we were to use tax increases alone to account for this, we would have to increase property taxes by 36.8%.
• Unfortunately, businesses are moving out of the City of Toronto into the 905 areas (Markham, Mississauga, etc.) as it is cheaper for them to operate outside of the 416 area. This also puts pressure on our budget.

Lead pipes and drinking water: Toronto's Lead in Drinking Water Mitigation Strategy (via WaterSource)

Below is an excerpt from WaterSource, a Toronto Water publication for councillors. It details some of the steps that Toronto is taking to reduce the amount of lead in our drinking water.

Long Grass & Weeds

Every summer our office is flooded by calls about neighbours not taking proper care of their lawns. The City's Municipal Code defines long grass and weeds as 20 centimetres (or 8 inches) tall. If grass and weeds are higher than 20 centimetres, it is in violation of the by-law, and is subject to fines.

Please take care to trim your front and back yards, as well as the boulevard portion of your lawn on a regular basis to ensure that your property is not in violation.

If you spot a property in your neighbourhood which has overgrown grass and weeds, please contact our office with the address of the offending party. We will contact the City's Municipal Standards Division, and ensure that the property is inspected.

If during inspection the property is found to be in violation, a notice of violation will be issued along with an order to comply. If the homeowner does not comply in the amount of time stated in the order, the City will cut the grass on their behalf and charge the service to their property bill.

Our office can be reached at 416-392-1374, or fill out the feedback form on our website here.

More info:
Municipal Licensing & Standards Division: Investigation Services

Toronto Hydro - Save ON Energy

Toronto Hydro has sent out an e-newsletter to let residents know about some of its latest developments and programs, as well as for providing some tips on how to save energy and money in your household. Click here to view the newsletter.

Budget

Governments around the world face large budget deficits, some of which are structural. Addressing them will require significant fiscal and operations changes within governments. (Source: Mowat Centre and the School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Toronto)

Toronto is not alone in having the same challenges. That is why for the 2012 Budget we will be having a full Operational and Capital Review of what we do, why we do it and importantly how to pay for it.

As Budget Chair, I have directed that we have the discussion of reviewing our expenditures and revenues in a way that has never been done. Standing Committees will need to review and prioritize what is important and how much our money will allow us to spend.

It is not business as usual because we have a $774 million dollar shortfall which has been structural. We will look at spending and revenue and the levels of service that we provide.

We will also have to examine shedding assets to create an income base to offset the $450 of interest and principal costs per year.

As wages comprises 50% of our costs, we will have to examine what is the best way to deliver services that we can afford. Some of our contracts have wording that reduce management's right to manage. Employees play a big role in the life of the City but government employees have been sheltered through the recession and it is difficult to meet the continuing demands for more. Out sourcing will be considered as part of the exercise.

Public consultation can take place at standing committees, town halls, e-mails, deputations and any other vehicle for input.

It will be a change and for some change will be difficult but we cannot do nothing. Our shortfall must be addressed.

Basement flooding assessment results

A Municipal Class Environmental Assessment was recently completed in the Ward 39 area. This study investigated the issue of basement flooding and recommends several improvements to drainage and sewer systems in the ward to prevent future problems. For more information, as well as locations in the ward where a full copy of the report can be found, please see the below notice.

Download (*.pdf format)

Mercer Special Report: Snow in Toronto

Who qualifies for a PVT refund?

As you know, the City of Toronto has recently rescinded the $60 Personal Vehicle Tax. Depending on your circumstance, you may be entitled to a refund of a portion of what you have already paid. Below is an excerpted portion of a Q&A factsheet published by the City, which lays out the exact scenario in which one is entitled to a refund.

Toronto City Council Attendance and Voting Records

Ever wanted to know whom voted on what in Toronto City Council? In the spirit of transparency and accountability, the City of Toronto has recently begun to record all votes taken in council. Now, members of the public can view the results of all of these votes for specific members of council using the website below.

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/news/2011-01-06-news-votes-attendance.htm