We'll be starting our sold-out talk by Peter Wallace on The Culture of Public Money: Local, Provincial, and Federal Perspectives. Peter has served as the Secretary of Treasury Board, Toronto City Manager, Head of the Ontario Public Service among other roles. #imfgtalks
Wallace: Need to ask who can do what before who should what. #imfgtalks
Wallace: Governments are really big. $500 billion spend at the federal level; Ontario at $210 billion; Toronto at $17 billion. #Imfgtalks
Wallace: To make change you need the jurisdiction. Need to do things and act strategically. Take on risk and absorb it. #imfgtalks
Wallace: Revenues are opaque. Even if you have a balanced budget mentality, even if you are off - "not a big deal." #imfgtalks
Wallace: There is actually a lot of scope when it comes to spending, little is legislated (just the interest on debt). #imfgtalks
Wallace: this means senior governments can establish and sustain strategic objectives. #imfgtalks
Wallace: Toronto - budgetting is "super visible" as are revenues. Of course, expense limitations and visible services. What is challenging: policies are adjusted throughout the year, but the bugetting is annual. #imfgtalks
Wallace: Toronto - divisions may follow your instruction but agencies may not (doesn't happen at the federal order). #imfgtalks
Wallace: Cities don't have the ability to finance what they want because of the revenue limitations unlike other orders of government. #imfgtalks
Wallace: Important to remember how good municipalities are. If there is trouble, it is usually in conjunction with senior orders of government. #Imfgtalks
Wallace: Don't expect municipalities to fix problems they didn't cause. #imfgtalks