Ding Dong Fantino's Gone! Ding Dong The Wicked Witch Is Dead!

I was on the subway the other day contemplating this exact same subject as I listened to two TTC employees discussing their driving commutes back to Barrie. If you work for the TTC or the Toronto Police, wouldn't you be more likely to do a good job if you or your family were likely to be affected by the level of service and policies of the organization? I'd much rather see the people who work there, living in Toronto too. And don't give me any BS about it being expensive to live downtown, because I do and I'm not rolling in dough, I just prefer to live within my means in a home that is small enough that I'm not wasting fossil fuels on heating a monstrosity of a house or wasting gas on driving everywhere I go - shouldn't TTC employees be on board with that?

P.S. I love David Miller. Seriously, I'm not kidding, I love the man.

Jan. 25, 2005. 08:22 AM
"I think it's very important symbolically (that the chief live in Toronto)." Mayor David Miller:

Mayor seeks live-in chief Top cop should live in Toronto but can't be asked to do so Miller seeking to participate in key candidate interviews

BRUCE DEMARA

CITY HALL BUREAU

Toronto's next chief of police should live in the city, though that's a requirement that can't be enforced, says Mayor David Miller.
Following a closed-door session with the Star's editorial board, Miller also said he would like to participate in the interview process for the new chief.
"One of my criteria for police chief is that the chief have an intimate understanding of the city and I think it's very important symbolically (that the chief live in Toronto)," Miller said.
Miller said U.S. cities like Chicago can require municipal employees to live within civic boundaries, but the idea is a non-starter in Canada.
"My understanding is the City of Toronto and its agencies because the Charter (of Rights and Freedoms) allows freedom of mobility can't make that (residency) request," he added.

Police Chief Julian Fantino, who leaves Feb. 28, lives in Vaughan, just north of Toronto.
The police services board yesterday named retired deputy chief Mike Boyd as acting chief, effective March 1, until Fantino's replacement is named. Boyd retired from the force last April 1.
The issue of Toronto's high cost of housing has simmered among local police officers for years.
In 2002, when the force began recruiting retired officers to bolster its ranks after nearly 500 staff had left the previous year, numerous rank and file officers cited the cost of housing as their reason for leaving.
That year, Fantino and retired Toronto Police Association president Craig Bromell said city police needed to be the highest paid in the country as a financial incentive to stay put.
In 1996, former police services board chair Susan Eng urged the force to consider a residency requirement as part of its campaign to hire 300 officers.
The strife-torn police services board only agreed in October to begin the lengthy process of replacing Fantino, and interviews aren't expected to begin until next month.
Deputy Chief Steve Reesor, an obvious choice to serve as acting chief, announced earlier this month his own retirement from the force.
Miller, who will join the police services board in June after delegating his spot for the first 18 months of his three-year term, said he will send a letter to board members shortly asking to be present at the main interviews.