BUDD: Well, you would think a bunch of high-priced, big- city accountants could manage a little thing like balancing the books. But apparently it's a lot harder than it looks in the city that so many people love to hate. BUDD: When he was first elected Mayor of Toronto, Mel Lastman promised there would be no new taxes and no cuts to services. Then came the $305million budget shortfall, and after a nasty round of name calling and finger pointing between the province and the city, it looks like Mr. Lastman is about to eat his hat. Today he laid out his plan to save money. It involves raising property taxes, freezing salaries, and cutting his own office budget by $50,000. But that still won't cover everything. BUDD: Dave Miller is the councilor for Ward 13 in the city of Toronto.
FINLAY: Mr. Miller, how did Toronto get into such a mess?
MILLER: Well, I think basically, Mary Lou, the last ten years the municipal governments that now make up Toronto have been cutting and cutting and cutting a total of about $500-million out of a $6-billion budget, and at the same time had tax freezes. And push has now come to shove. There's some inflationary pressures, our workers after a decade have finally got a wage hike, and of course the provincial government here in Ontario has downloaded a number of responsibilities to the city that add up to about $250- million a year. So we have a shortfall.
BUDD: Now, I know Mayor Lastman has not minced his words about how much he thinks the province owes Toronto, but didn't the province when it did that switch-around of services - "Now I'll take responsibility for this and you take responsibility for that" - didn't they say it would be a wash? MILLER: They have said many things, but it's quite clear it wasn't a wash, and particularly in transit, for example. I'm a Toronto Transit Commissioner, - FINLAY: M'hm. MILLER: - and the TTC is the only major transit property in the world that doesn't have funding from a source other than property tax and the fare box, the only one. And one of the biggest pressures is the fact that this year the funding for the TTC from the province ended, and that in and of itself is about $200- million of the problem.
FINLAY: What about amalgamation? There were many people who said it would be more expensive after amalgamation.
MILLER: I was one of them, and I was right. But I think the real issue and one the mayor unfortunately didn't talk about today is the fact that there's been a decade of cuts. Probably about 5,000 people have lost their jobs out of a workforce of 25,000.
FINLAY: That of course is supposed to save money.
MILLER: Well, it has, but there's no more to give. FINLAY: Yes.
MILLER: And Toronto is unfortunately starting to decline a little bit, and what I really wanted to hear the mayor saying was It's time to stop the cuts. Yes, we have fiscal problems this year, but here's some programs over the future to help surmount those problems and help build a really great city. I mean, Toronto's a very special city. It's supposed to be the economic engine of Canada, and if it keeps declining, it's bad for everybody. FINLAY: All right. Now, where do you go from here? The mayor proposes, what, a five-per-cent municipal tax hike?
MILLER: Yes.
FINLAY: And he says that will only deal with about a third of the shortfall. So where's the rest coming from? MILLER: Well, he proposed some - FINLAY: And that's without any wage increases anywhere, right? MILLER: Yes.
He's proposing to have a wage freeze, which is a little bizarre because we just signed collective agreements that gave people a modest two-per-cent wage hike, but we're bound by those, so I'm not sure where he's coming from on that. He did announce that he had two rabbits up his sleeves. Unfortunately, we weren't enlightened as to what the rabbits are, but my guess is that - FINLAY: He's going to buy lottery tickets? MILLER: Well, yes, that's one method. I guess if every city employee bought one, perhaps we'd get somewhere. FINLAY: M'hm. MILLER: He has been meeting in private with some of the provincial government members who have an agenda of heavy cuts, and my guess is he was making an announcement today to show them that he could talk about cuts as well in the hope that they'll actually contribute some money to Toronto. And I think that's one of the rabbits, but he - FINLAY: And he's been so nice to Premier Mike Harris. MILLER: Well, he's nice Mondays and mean Wednesdays. FINLAY: Well, what are the chances of more money from Queen's Park, do you think? MILLER: I personally don't think Queen's Park will give us a lot of money, but one thing they might do: They've passed a regulation which prevents the city of Toronto, unlike most places in Canada, from raising taxes on all of the property taxpayers. We're only allowed to raise taxes on residential property taxpayers. And they might ease that regulation.
FINLAY: You're only allowed to raise taxes - MILLER: Yes. FINLAY: - on residential taxpayers?
MILLER: Yes.
We couldn't raise it on industrial or commercial properties or private companies or anybody like that. FINLAY: Nobody else does this?
MILLER: No.
FINLAY: It is bizarre.
MILLER: That is very odd. So if that regulation were waived and if the province agreed - the province imposes a property tax as well on commercial taxpayers that's higher in Toronto than everywhere else in the province. So if it reduced that and allowed us to raise taxes across the whole tax base, it would certainly lessens the impact on people, and I think that's something they might do. FINLAY: And then, of course, there's the Olympic bid. MILLER: Yes, there is.
FINLAY: So $300-million and change in debt, and then you've got this big Olympic bid, and yesterday we were talking to Pam McConnell about the problem of not having a community facility, a community centre in St. Jamestown, even though it's been promised for some 13 years in an area that badly needs it. How are all these things going to work out?
MILLER: Well, I'm finding that we're getting a lot of calls from my constituents, and when people see me in the street in my ward, they're stopping me and saying, "You know, Councillor, we really don't think we should be going for the Olympics." And I think people are seeing that as something unrealistic when you're facing these kind of funding challenges. MILLER: I mean, to me, what the city should be doing is building community centres, opening libraries, making better services available for people. What we're actually doing, we diminished the hockey season by two weeks this year for outdoor artificial ice, we're proposing to close libraries, close community centres. That's not what people want in their city. FINLAY: M'hm. MILLER: They want a place that's fun and vibrant and has the services they need. FINLAY: The argument will be that the Olympics will bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in cash from the federal government and the provincial government and from all the people who come.
MILLER: Well, I think there are economic benefits to the Olympics, particularly to the construction trades, and I think that's very important. But we can't do that and then not support things like community centres. FINLAY: Yes.
MILLER: I mean, the Olympics has to benefit kids who use community centres as well as people who build buildings. I think council had tried collectively to support a bid that was going to help in every direction, - FINLAY: Yes. MILLER: - but now, given the current financial realities, I think a number of us are rethinking our views, because you have to have priorities, and the number one priority has to be the quality of life for people who live in Toronto.
FINLAY: Okay, Mr. Miller. Thank you very much.
MILLER: Mary Lou, it's a pleasure. FINLAY: Nice to talk to you.
MILLER: Okay. Bye-bye.
FINLAY: Bye.
BUDD: Dave Miller is a Toronto city councillor.
BUDD: Sixty-seven million to one: Those are the odds of hitting a hole in one twice in the same round of golf. And 82- year-old Evelyn Tutchi is one is 67-million. She made two magical, memorable shots during a Valentine's tournament in Pompano Beach, Florida, so we had to talk to her. We reached her at home in Lighthouse Point, Florida.
FINLAY: Ms. Tutchi, congratulations.
TUTCHI: Thank you very much.
FINLAY: Can you believe you did this?
TUTCHI: No, I can't. I'm still in a dream. FINLAY: Sixty-seven million to one they say the odds are.
TUTCHI: I know.
FINLAY: Where were you playing?
TUTCHI: At Crystal Lake Country Club.
FINLAY: This is your regular club?
TUTCHI: Yes.
FINLAY: You know the course pretty well?
TUTCHI: Oh, yes.
FINLAY: Did you ever get a hole in one before?
TUTCHI: Never one.
FINLAY: Well, how did you get two in one day - one game?
TUTCHI: Good question, I guess. It just was something the Lord wanted to give to me before I disappear in the world.
FINLAY: Tell us how it happened. What was the first one? What hole were you on?
TUTCHI: That was a par three, and it is 112 yards.
FINLAY: Yes.
TUTCHI: I like the hole. It has done dirty things to me at times because there's a lake on one side and a cart path that could - if you take a bounce, it'll put you in the water. FINLAY: OK.
TUTCHI: And on the right side, there's a couple of bad sand traps. So you try to hit a straight ball, and I've been pretty much of a straight hitter most of the time. FINLAY: Yes.
TUTCHI: And the ball - I saw the flag and the ball hit just before the green, and then it was zooming like an arrow to the pin. And my girlfriend said, "I think it's in." "Don't make me feel that it is, because I've been waiting too many years - " FINLAY: M'hm. TUTCHI: " - for it to go in." So if it's going to be, yes, I'll take it, but don't - " FINLAY: Don't get my hopes up. TUTCHI: " - get me excited." FINLAY: Yeah.
TUTCHI: And so she said, "Okay, then, we'll let you see it." So I drove the cart up there and got off, and she went to the pin and she said, "Here it is," and there it was. FINLAY: Now, how did you react?
TUTCHI: I was very excited, extremely. I think I was almost more excited by the first one than I was with the second one, believe it or not.
FINLAY: You must have been stunned by the second one.
TUTCHI: Absolutely. When I went to that green, I had driven up the cart. She had walked ahead FINLAY: M'hm. TUTCHI: - and she's a young girl. She's like 55 years old, and she walked ahead and I drove the cart to the green, and I saw three balls on the green and I said, "Okay, where's mine?" And they said - no, I said, "Is that my ball there?" and they said, "No, your ball's in the cup." FINLAY: Which hole was that on?
TUTCHI: That was number five. So within two holes, I had two holes in one.
FINLAY: And you didn't get struck by lightning or anything. What a day.
TUTCHI: It was - it just was phenomenal. It was our member-guest day, - FINLAY: Yes. TUTCHI: - and of course, being the day before Valentine's Day, everybody was in red or some colour or red in them, and it was just a wonderful - it was a gorgeous day. I think it was 81, - FINLAY: Oh. TUTCHI: - and picture perfect.
FINLAY: So when news got back to everybody else in the club, then what?
TUTCHI: Well, they had pretty much heard on the course - FINLAY: M'hm. TUTCHI: - because news gets around very fast when things like that happen.
FINLAY: Sure.
TUTCHI: People being in a cart, they'll go from one fairway to the other just to pass the news on, and so most of them had heard. Some didn't hear. Actually, there was one gal that I know real well that hadn't heard, and we were almost through playing 18 holes of golf and she hadn't heard, and she just thought I was pulling her leg, - FINLAY: Yeah. TUTCHI: - because she knows that I'm not a low handicapper, so she just thought I was pulling her leg. FINLAY: What's your handicap? TUTCHI: Thirty-two.
FINLAY: Yeah.
But when you got to the club, did they have a big round of applause? Did you get a round of drinks, a cake, what?
TUTCHI: Actually, because of it being member-guest day, they had a luncheon all planned, not necessarily in my honour, and they had gifts, a lot of door prizes and of course gifts for the winners. And so I made an announcement that the drinks were all on me, whoever wanted to choose to have a drink, and our manager was so beautiful, he sent down champagne. And so some took the champagne over the drinks, but whatever.
FINLAY: M'hm. TUTCHI: We had a wonderful time, wonderful celebration.
FINLAY: Now, you were playing in a tournament, were you?
TUTCHI: Oh, yes.
FINLAY: So did you win the tournament?
TUTCHI: Yes.
We came in first in the tournament.
FINLAY: I guess.
TUTCHI: Yes.
I had two ones, let's face it. FINLAY: Yeah.
Hard to get around that.
TUTCHI: I know.
FINLAY: Tiger Woods, move over. Have you ever played with Tiger?
TUTCHI: No.
FINLAY: He'll have to come and meet you. TUTCHI: If he wants.
FINLAY: How long have you been golfing, Ms. Tutchi?
TUTCHI: About 30 years.
FINLAY: Well, you must have a wonderful swing.
TUTCHI: Well, I'll tell you, I have a smooth swing. I've never been a real rough, up-and-down type person, but naturally straight most of the time. FINLAY: Well, now that you know how to do this, I guess you can just go out and do it any time.
TUTCHI: Oh, sure.
FINLAY: Thank you for talking to us.
TUTCHI: Thank you, honey.
FINLAY: Congratulations again.
TUTCHI: You're welcome. FINLAY: Bye.
TUTCHI: Bye.
BUDD: Golfer Evelyn Tutchi is 82 years old. You'll agree she's fabulous, and she's in Lighthouse Point, Florida. BUDD: And that's it for the first part of As It Happens. Next up on CBC Radio One is news and weather, and then more of us.
FINLAY: To some, it's a garage; to others, it's a piece of history. A group in Pittsburgh tries to stop the demolition of the world's first radio station. BUDD: Learning from the Florida fiasco: How the big networks got it so wrong, and what they need to do to get it right the next time.
FINLAY: And the $20 scam: It could cost you most of your savings - minus the $20.
BUDD: Do not forget Talkback. The number is 416-205-3331. E-mail us at aih@toronto.cbc.ca. I'm Barbara Budd. FINLAY: I'm Mary Lou Finlay.
