With council poised to approve a budget Mayor John Tory said kept property taxes at “reasonable” rates, critics said they would have trouble sleeping with cuts impacting the city’s most vulnerable.A council meeting went late Wednesday night as members debated a budget some called “fair” and others contended was “unsustainable.”Council did earlier approve a residential property tax rate that totals 3.29 per cent, or $90 extra for the average homeowner.A vote on whether this budget would eliminate 10 frontline shelter staff positions — at a time when those havens are exceeding capacity targets and those who rely on them struggle to find more permanent housing — appeared too close to call before deadline but was said to not have Tory’s support.Councillor Joe Cressy moved a motion that council keep the 10 frontline positions, by voting to increase the 2017 operating budget for shelter, support and housing administration by just over $1 million, by pulling funding from a property tax stabilization reserve fund.“The shelter system in our city serves some of our most vulnerable residents. These are people who far too many of them are fleeing abuse, these are people far too many of them who are living with mental health issues, who are living with addictions, who are there because often there is nowhere else to go,” Cressy said. “Let’s not balance this budget on the backs of the most vulnerable.”The positions would be lost through attrition — when the current staff retire or leave.Five of the jobs, council heard earlier in the night, would come from one of the ten city run shelters, which serve about 1,500 people. The remaining 49 shelters, council heard, in the city are run by community agencies. The entire system, including hotel beds, has room for about 4,600 people, according to city data. “The impact of this is there will be less hands to do this v ...
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