Debating points from Matt Elliott, still no word from the mayor

I’m still waiting to hear back from the mayor’s office about the debate challenge. I understand that with the Chicago trip and all, he’s likely been too busy to deal with scheduling.

In the meantime, Matt Elliott of Metro’s Ford For Toronto blog offers some me som debate prep. Particularly compelling is his rebuttal to the constant Ford talking point that for the first time, under Ford the city has produced a lower budget, year-over-year. As Matt’s chart above shows, the net budget–the stuff we fund with our property taxes–has continued to rise under Ford. The lower-budget claim is only true if you include the things that are paid for by the province, user fees and other revenue sources. So has Ford’s budget saved Toronto taxpayers money? Or has it continued to rise?

His other points are great too. You ought to go check out his post.