Proposed Toronto budget now heads to council

Mayor John Tory's executive committee got its last look at the city's nearly $10-billion operating budget on Monday before it goes to city council next week.

For Tory, it is the first budget to be put together under his watch as mayor.

The mayor told the executive committee that he believes it strikes a balance between keeping a lid on property taxes and making needed investments for the city.

"These things are never perfect," Tory said Monday, noting that the budget will be subject to debate at council.

Coun. Gary Crawford, the mayor's budget chief, said the budget was a process and had involved "some very feisty discussions" before reaching its present form.

"We can feel incredibly proud of this budget," Crawford said. "It's an affordable budget that keeps property taxes below the rate of inflation, but at the same time has some major investments in many, many areas."

The proposed budget would see the city borrow for itself in order to offset a hole left in the budget by a loss of funding from the provincial government for social housing.

Many councillors say it would be best for the city to deal with this issue now and that by taking the loan, the problem will get worse in future budget years.