Tuned in to the livestream just to hear a City staff member saying "—million to deploy AI solutions—" and immediately turned it off

#TOpoli #TOcouncil #TObudget

Back to Budget Committee! I need to do work and grocery shopping and stuff, but will check in when I can.

• Livestream: https://youtube.com/live/L_oYF5M6F-M
• Agenda: https://secure.toronto.ca/council/#/committees/2562/27153
• It may be easier to find the various documents here: https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/budget-finances/city-budget/notes-reports-and-presentations/

#TOpoli #TOcouncil #TObudget

I know there are perfectly fine reasons to go with numbers for the lines instead of colours, but as someone who almost never takes any of those lines (I generally only need streetcar/bus) I can never fucking remember what lines the numbers stand for.

I know 1 (yellow/Yonge-University-Spadina) and 2 (green/Bloor), am iffy on 3 (the now-defunct SRT, I guess?) and I guess 4 is purple/Sheppard, and 5 and 6 are the light rail lines???

#TOpoli #TOcouncil #TObudget

Back to Budget Committee, where we'll be hearing from the city's two biggest agencies, the TTC and Toronto Police Services, about their budgets. https://www.youtube.com/live/5lyvRANck-s

A quick reminder that my self-imposed rule is that I get to stop watching as soon as someone mentions leveraging AI.

#TOpoli #TOcouncil #TObudget

BTW, if anyone wants to crunch the Toronto shelter numbers themselves, here's the main #OpenData datasets:

• https://open.toronto.ca/dataset/daily-shelter-overnight-service-occupancy-capacity/
• https://open.toronto.ca/dataset/toronto-shelter-system-flow/
• https://open.toronto.ca/dataset/central-intake-calls/

#TOpoli #TOcouncil #TObudget

Carroll obliquely addresses "social media" criticisms of a $100 million cut; says it's clawbacks from other orders of government.

That wraps up this cluster of services, but the next agencies (Toronto Police Services, TTC) aren't available until 1:30 p. m. Back then.

#TOpoli #TOcouncil #TObudget

Cheng asks if they could reach zero people turned away from shelters. TSSS say average numbers have dropped over 2025 from ~120 to ~34 to, one night in December, 2. Will have to dig into budget variance reports to see if they go into more detail as to why.

#TOpoli #TOcouncil #TObudget

Toronto Shelter & Support Services says [one-time/time-limited] funding for the Encampment Office will be ending in March of this year.

Moise asks about the operational impacts of the changes to the encampment protocol approved late last year to prioritize removing encampments within 50 metres of "children's amenities"; TSSS say they've removed 48 since.

#TOpoli #TOcouncil #TObudget

Moise asks Paramedic Services about whether they have seen an uptick in overdose calls since the closure of supervised consumption sites. Division head Bikram Chawla (I believe) says they haven't. Anecdotally, this belies what I heard recently from a Parkdale Community Health Centre employee, which is that overdoses are spiking. Then again, people may be trying to avoid calling 911 because of the risk of discrimination and arrest (paramedics routinely ask police to accompany them on overdose calls).

#TOcouncil #TOpoli #TObudget

Cheng mentions "naturalized areas" in parks with "weeds taller than toddlers."

#TOcouncil #TOpoli #TObudget

Budget Committee is back, hearing from more City divisions!

Today's game: listening/watching until someone mentions "leveraging AI"

• Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/5lyvRANck-s
• Agenda & documents: https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2026.BU11.1

#TOpoli #TOcouncil #TObudget

Carroll wants everyone to understand that housing capital projects getting deferred isn't necessarily the City's fault. "There's a focus of some of our colleagues on capital deferrals but often there are other reasons why deferrals are happening or being smoothed out to other years.

"Or they're making stuff up. That too. I'll say that right into the microphone. Okay, I think that's it for Housing Secretariat…"

#TOpoli #TOcouncil #TObudget

"Just put up your physical hand. Physical hands are all we're working with today." #NoContexxt

#TOpoli #TOcouncil #TObudget

Tuning in to Budget Committee just in time to hear budget chief Shelley Carroll say, "The barrage of questions going to staff that are not specifically budget-related are challenging." I see things are going well

#TOpoli #TOcouncil #TObudget

In other news the Budget Committee is hearing presentations from City divisions starting, like, now. I meant to go in in person but unfortunately slept in having dreams and will have to catch up belatedly. I am going to go take a shower and hope there isn't a wall covering the window.

• Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/-jtoc2TxQNo
• Agenda item with links to materials: https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2026.BU11.1

#TOpoli #TOcouncil #TObudget

Me going to #TObudget town halls

#TOpoli

Facilitator (reading question off form): "What will you tell other people about this event?"

Me: "uhh, I've been liveposting this on social media the entire time, so I'm already telling everyone about it"

#TOpoli #TObudget

The facilitator refuses to write down my suggestion for an armed uprising and mass strikes

#TOpoli #TObudget

"At one point we had the lowest number of police officers per capita in North America"

I let out the tiniest "woo"

Conforti (para): you could cut the entire fire department and paramedics, close every library, and that would still leave a $150 million gap

That's peanuts, also, there are totally politicians who would absolutely do that

#TOpoli #TObudget

"Senior city staff will be going table to table, listening in and asking questions" okay I shouldn't be here. I am, like, not a civilian. This is awkward

#TOpoli #TObudget