Toronto’s budget chair says he’ll find the money if city council wants Mayor Rob Ford to have a driver.

“If council wants it, I’ll put it in,” Councillor Mike Del Grande said Wednesday. “Personally, given some of the things that have occurred, I think it makes sense.”

Tuesday morning, Ford was photographed reading a document while driving on the Gardiner Expressway. It was the third incident in a little over a year in which Ford has been accused of unsafe or distracted driving.

Del Grande said council should step up because Ford has consistently opposed hiring a driver because he thinks it’s a waste of money.

“I think, rather than him saying yea or nay, I think council as a whole needs to say, ‘Mr. Mayor, we’re going to give you a driver.’”

Del Grande’s comments came a day after an unusual Facebook plea from the police. Sgt. Tim Burrows, a social media officer and former traffic services spokesman, urged Ford to get a driver and said he was speaking “on behalf of all the citizens of Toronto that value road safety…”

“I think there is value in having someone move the mayor around,” Chief Bill Blair told reporters Wednesday. “He’s got an incredibly busy agenda. And I think it would enable him to perhaps get more work done.”

With files from Patty Winsa