Tuesday was supposed to be a day of total triumph for Mayor Rob Ford. Instead, it was the day that signaled he may have lost control of the city’s agenda.

City Council approved a 2012 budget that will spend fewer property tax dollars this year than last — an unheard-of accomplishment that the mayor sought. But, in ignoring the concerns of moderate city councillors, most of them rookies, Ford gambled and lost.

He rejected the modest spending requests to save child-care subsidies, school pools, shelters, ice rinks, community grants, mechanized leaf collection, TTC bus routes — services that now exist and which cost just $15 million in a city budget of nearly $10 billion.

He said “no” and council said “yes” by a 23-21 margin — a vote which, if it occurred at Queen’s Park or Parliament Hill, would be considered a vote of non-confidence in the government.

At Toronto City Hall, the government survives, but it does so with the knowledge that the majority of city councillors are not in lockstep with the mayor’s agenda.

“Was this a hill to die on? I’m not saying that. But the world is not going to end,” said a disappointed Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, one of Ford’s staunch, hardline allies.

The approved budget increases taxes on homeowners by 2.5 per cent, amounting to $60 on the average $447,000 Toronto home. Businesses pay one-third of this rate.

The tax hike passed without debate. What caused the drama was an attempt by a slim council majority to put back some services the Ford administration had targeted for cuts. By day’s end, nearly $20 million in cuts were restored.

The signs of the discontent had been there for the Ford administration to heed, in the months leading to Tuesday’s vote. But Ford hard-liners risked the showdown and lost.

“It’s not a loss, really,” said one Ford insider, putting a positive spin on the setback. “If we hadn’t fought, they would have spent more.”

Rarely, if ever, does a mayor suffer such a rebuff at city council. It’s bad politics. It opens the door for city council to challenge the mayor on subsequent policies — even ones they won’t win. As such, it slows down the pace at which the administration can proceed on future reforms.

The 2012 budget was more controversial than most, only because of the way it was framed, not because of the fiscal challenge. Yes, the city started out with a $774 million “shortfall.” But that’s nothing new. Over the lpst five years, the “shortfall” has averaged $737 million, including a high of $821 million two years ago.

What was different with the 2012 budget was that Mayor Ford cited his mandate to reduce the size and cost of government and wrote a budget narrative that forced the city to drastically reduce costs, by about $327 million.

And what may have doomed Ford and prevented a total victory was his reckless rhetoric around the budget. He told voters he’d find $2 billion in savings without cutting services and quickly showed he couldn’t find half as much; and he put services under attack.

Alarmed, citizens rallied and protested the cuts in record numbers. The protests struck a chord with several of the new city councillors, most of them moderates, and they sought a compromise.

Led by Councillor Josh Colle, the moderates voted with council’s left-wingers and progressives and halted what once seemed like a Ford juggernaut.

Almost always, some city councillors want to change the budget to suit their vision. Almost always, the mayor’s staff counts the council votes before they are cast, rallies the allies to back the budget plan, or make compromises to neutralize the opposition and avoid a budget defeat.

Ford started down this road when he agreed to changes at two committees he controls — budget committee and his hand-picked executive. But he didn’t go far enough, ignoring demands for put-backs.

Colle set the stage for the mayor’s setback early in Tuesday’s debate when he filed an omnibus motion that listed nine services that the council’s left-wingers and moderates wanted funded in the budget. That motion passed.

Before that, all the elements for total success were there for Ford’s taking. For the first time in about a decade, Toronto council had before it a fiscal plan that outlined a future of balanced budgets without the customary tricks of raiding reserves and tapping into year-end surpluses.

And Ford stood to soak up all the credit.

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With year-end surpluses estimated to be $154 million and counting, all he had to do was give a little to maintain peace. He rolled the dice and lost.

Now, council knows the big, bad wolf isn’t nearly as scary as once thought.

Royson James usually appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Email: rjames@thestar.ca