National Post: Fudging rink fees

Published: Thursday, February 07, 2008
Source: National Post

"When Mayor David Miller unveiled Toronto's $8.2-billion, allegedly balanced budget last week, he hid some of the details. One of them was discovered this past week, by city councillors who took the time to hack through the budgetary minutiae: a proposed 21.5% increase in permit fees to rent ice rinks and soccer fields. Apparently, hitting up Torontonians for another $2-million to play hockey and soccer wasn't something the city wanted to publicize.

Facing overwhelming opposition, David Miller said yesterday that such a massive fee increase will not be implemented (though a lesser increase reamins a possibility). But the city's confused, contradictory communications on this issue belie either disingenuousness or overwhelming incompetence.

City councillor Joe Mihevc, chairman of the recreation committee, was working hard to explain why no one thought such fee increases merited mention: "We didn't bury it," he said. "It was not time to speak to [the permit] issue." The reason is wasn't time? In Mr. Mihevc's own words, he didn't want to see "angry parents of hockey children" confusing the debate on city programs."

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