After a summer of talking about service cuts, city council is finally set to decide on a course of action. A special meeting of council dealing with the core service review began Monday morning.

The most controversial proposals — slashing windrow clearing, subsidized daycare spaces, community grants and late-night TTC buses — were canned at the executive committee level, but it was still a full day of heated debate.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Polls, schmolls. Nine out 10 taxpayers support Rob Ford, he says.

The mayor opened council with a token Fordian speech: City hall has a spending problem; councillors must act now to solve Toronto’s financial crisis; and this is what people asked for when they elected him.

“Taxpayers of this city — overwhelming, wherever I go, as of yesterday, as of last night (and on) Saturday — they have told me, I’m talking 90 per cent, nine out of every 10 people I meet say, ‘Rob, stay the course.’”

• News of the day:

Paula Fletcher says she plans to put a motion on the floor of council (exactly when isn’t clear), asking the province to change the laws and allow Toronto to de-amalgamate. Ford said he loves Etobicoke and he wouldn’t be opposed to the idea, provided there was no financial consequence.

• Surprise of the day:

For one of the first times, if not the first, Speaker Frances Nunziata was overruled on a decision. It was a small matter — allowing Councillor Josh Matlow an extra 20 seconds of speaking time — but it set the tone for the day and played into the narrative that this is a newly emboldened council.

• The political divide:

Opposition councillors argued that they were being asked to endorse cuts without having all the financial information needed to do so. “This is a budget meeting without numbers,” Adam Vaughan protested.

Staff have been secretive about the exact sums associated with each proposed cut. As well, the mayor and city staff have continued to say that Toronto faces a $774 million deficit. Last week, city manager Joe Pennachetti put the number closer to $500 million. Then, Monday, he seemed to backtrack, stating the number is still $774 million. And then the opposition caught wind of a rumoured $80 million in surprise revenue from the city land transfer tax. This dancing bottom line had many councillors suspicious.

“I feel like I’m flying blind here,” Councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby, typically a reliable vote for the mayor, complained during council.

Deputy mayor Doug Holyday countered that the left was just trying to delay the inevitable and that if the city didn’t act now to fix its financial woes, the province would step in and do it for them.

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• Random noteworthy Ford statement:

In a comment that will no doubt reignite layoff fears, the mayor said, unprompted, that he believes there are 7,000 too many employees working for the City of Toronto. About 700 will be granted a voluntary severance package. Earlier this year, the Star learned the administration was hoping to reduce the workforce by at least 3,000.