Well, that was fun.

Monday marks the end of the tumultuous – and at times entertaining – Rob Ford administration/circus.

The polite way to refer to the last four years at Toronto’s City Hall would be the storm – Rob Ford … before the calm – John Tory.

But, even amid all of the craziness, important work was accomplished. And, as Ford assumes his chair on the floor of council, once again representing the residents of Ward 2, he should be proud of the tone he set – at least temporarily – to make some important policy changes at City Hall.

And some of the changes a Tory administration is going to want to either continue or take further.

Notably outsourcing garbage collection east of Yonge St.

When Ford and his team outsourced collection west of Yonge St., that move alone saved the city nearly $11 million annually.

Sources close to Tory’s transition team tell me that will be the job of Councillor Jaye Robinson, who will be tapped to chair the public works committee.

The Ford administration can also take credit for a labour deal the likes of which no municipal leader in this province could have ever dreamed.

With savings to taxpayers of over $140 million over four years, that charge was led by then-deputy mayor Doug Holyday as chair of the employee and labour relations committee.

Those same sources tell me Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong will now have the responsibility Holyday had as deputy mayor, and will also be at the helm when a new labour deal is struck and serve as chair of the powerful striking committee.

Conventional wisdom would suggest Tory would want to distance himself as much as possible from those who were part of the administration in the last four years, but the reality is those councillors who served with Ford cannot be faulted for his personal failings.

Councillor Gary Crawford from Scarborough, for example, will play a prominent role for Tory as his budget chief. This was an important choice because the mayor-elect was shut out of Scarborough as outgoing Councillor Doug Ford gobbled up all the wards in the last election.

Crawford, who was mayor Ford’s emissary to the arts community, has a good handle on the state of affairs of the city’s finances and will do former budget chief Mike Del Grande proud.

When news broke last week that Tory would sit on the Toronto Police Services Board (a smart move), it was also revealed Councillor Michael Thompson – who had been vice-chair of the board and was also known to have a more than fractious relationship with soon to be outgoing Chief Bill Blair – would not be returning to the board.

Thompson, according to sources, will remain chair of the influential economic development committee. If he accepts the role.

Councillor Michelle Berardinetti (also from Scarborough) will take over as chair of the parks committee, I'm told.

She will be responsible for tackling the ongoing issue of the Emerald Ash Borer, which is eating away at much of our tree canopy – something Tory committed to doubling in the last election.

To the cornerstone of Tory’s platform – SmartTrack – he is going to rely heavily on Councillor Josh Colle, who sources have said will tapped for TTC chair.

The likeable Colle was leader of the pack of the mushy middle during the last term of council. Following Karen Stintz’s resignation as TTC chair, Colle narrowly lost the vote to Councillor Maria Augimeri to take over at the TTC. Now he will have his chance to lead the Red Rocket.

Working closely with TTC CEO Andy Byford (who was brought in under Ford), Colle will have his hands full negotiating the transit chaos our city faces daily.

And finally, the person responsible for herding all of Toronto’s municipal officials when they are doing the people’s business, will be Councillor Frances Nunziata who will remain as speaker.

A Ford loyalist, Nunziata has taken her lumps as speaker – reviled by the council left-wingers, and sometimes frustrated by the rest – but will continue on in the role others have coveted.

And what of Rob Ford? It is an unusual circumstance when the former mayor is a sitting member of council. Though he will not have an official capacity, I think Tory will defer to Ford on some files, understanding that he still has a significant role to play.

And who says the next four years will be dull?