Make Toronto an ‘international city of the future’ Pennachetti tells council

In a long speech that could put many mayoral or council candidates to shame, the city’s top bureaucrat urged councillors to help make Toronto a "true international city of the future."

He told them they could be proud of their accomplishments but ought to review the city’s goals set after amalgamation in 2002 – all of them accomplished, Pennachetti said – and "think even more strategically" during the next council term.

That, he added, includes working more closely with its neighbours in Greater Toronto, since the world sees Toronto and the GTA as the same thing.

A chartered accountant, Pennachetti joined the city staff in 2002, and in 2008 became head of Toronto’s public service, in charge of 37,000 full and part-time city employees and 21,000 others in policing, transit and housing.

Through many crises since - SARS, the Sunrise Propane explosion, floods and the ice storm - he guided the city "with aplomb," understanding and gentle humour, Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly said in a council presentation.

"In matters one can plan, his leadership was of the highest calibre," added Kelly, who said Pennachetti’s guiding star as manager was his "principled pragmatism."

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• Dec 31, 1969
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Mayor Rob Ford acknowledged "we had our trials and tribulations" together, but said Pennachetti played an "extremely important role" in shaping Toronto.

"And you have never let us down," Ford said.

Pennachetti, in turn, said the city’s "dedicated and compassionate" public service "is second to none" and has shown professionalism in improving customer service and innovation.

He added during his job’s last months he will visit community centres, depots and other city facilities to thank employees personally.

Among the people he thanked Wednesday were three Toronto mayors: Mel Lastman, who hired Pennachetti as Toronto’s CFO; David Miller, who convinced the province to pass the City of Toronto Act which Pennachetti considers a crucial "milestone"; and Ford, who "for the most part" allowed Pennachetti to do his job meeting fiscal challenges the current mayor emphasized.

The city manager has made no secret, however, that he disagrees with Ford’s assessment that the city was "on a fiscal cliff" in 2010 and that there is much fat left to cut.

Earlier this month, Pennachetti agreed with a report released by the Institute for Municipal Finance and Governance at University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs, stating the case Toronto does not have a spending problem or high taxes, but needs new sources of revenue.

He spelled out the only way to avoid making new sources of cash necessary is to have the province and federal government take back two major financial pressures on the city: operating transit and maintaining public housing.

Once the previous 50-50 partnership with the province to pay TTC’s operating costs resumes, and once provincial or federal governments take back responsibility for repairing and expanding Toronto’s affordable housing stock, Pennachetti told council Wednesday, the city can deliver core services without fears of service cuts.

A 2016 review with the province of the City of Toronto Act is a opportunity to forge the new arrangement, Pennachetti said, saying the mindset he blames for the downloads – a dismissal of cities as a mere "sub-national" or "third level" of government – is now thankfully gone.

Cities are now respected for their professionalism in delivering services, Pennachetti said. "We are no longer third class."

Councillors and staff in the chamber gave him a standing ovation.

"I will miss it all," Pennachetti said, briefly breaking down near the end of his remarks, "but mostly the people, the relationships and my daily walks in Nathan Phillips Square."