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“Taxpayers only have so much cash,” said Farkas Monday. “We strongly believe that we don’t want service reductions, we don’t want dramatic layoffs at the city, but at the end of the day, it ultimately becomes a choice for the unions: either they can accept job security or they can accept wage security.”

The proposals have so far been roundly criticized by union leaders who say workers already accepted two years of wage freezes before the “modest” increase that was settled upon for 2020.

“It’s simply political posturing by a minority of these councillors,” said D’Arcy Lanovaz, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 38. “They know it’s not serious, they know they have no authority to open the contracts.

“It’s kind of frustrating that they’re headed down this path rather than dealing with the actual problems of the city.”

The two pitches arrive just as council is preparing for a tough debate later this month over adjustments to city budgets.

Administration is expected to come up with scenarios to hold the line on municipal spending in 2020 to either a 3.03 per cent increase, 1.5 per cent or zero.

Compounding the difficulty for city officials is the impact of recent provincial budget cuts to capital and operating transfers, as well as the city’s ongoing problem with slumping property values in the downtown that has resulted in huge tax hikes on businesses outside the core in recent years.

Council will have to find approximately $12 million to restore funding to police as a result of the recent provincial budget, as well as a further $15.4 million in response to an increase in the provincial education requisition in 2019.