TORONTO

Mayor Rob Ford is going into Wednesday's city council meeting with proposals to save more than $60 million in the 2014 budget.

The Toronto Sun got a sneak peak Tuesday of Ford's budget saving playbook in his bid to try to limit the property tax hike to 1.75%--that includes a 1.25% property tax increase along with a 0.5% hike to start to fund the Scarborough subway.

Ford has drafted around 25 motions and will be laying them out on the floor of council after refusing to show them to the executive committee last week.

While Ford has made it clear he expects councillors to reject his proposed cuts, he's planning for a fight on the council floor.

Sources said Ford will be asking council to direct staff to find private sponsorship to cover $19 million in Pan Am Games celebrations, start charging a minimal fee for the city's Welcome Policy to raise $2.5 million, to ask the province to allow the city to tack on unpaid library fines to property tax bills, to cut city council's $3.1-million general expense budget and to use $3.5 million garnered from tax assessment growth to drive down the property tax levy.

Ford -- who was touring a private apartment building on Tuesday to deal with tenant issues -- wasn't optimistic about Wednesday's budget debate.

"The taxpayers are going to get robbed blind," Ford said. "The taxpayers want me to save money but the councillors want to spend it.

"There are very few fiscally responsible councillors down there."

Councillors -- who have yet to see Ford's promised budget savings--were skeptical about what was coming to council.

"I believe he's come up with something that adds up to $50 million but much of it might not make any sense," Councillor Peter Milczyn said on Tuesday.

As a councillor, Ford would routinely lose motions to cut budgets at council and then lament the lack of will among his colleagues to make tough choices.

Milczyn agreed Ford was going back to his old council playbook.

"He's doing what Rob Ford has done and what propelled him into the mayor's office. We'll see what happens," he said.

Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly wouldn't speculate on the credibility of Ford's list of budget recommendations Tuesday.

"I can foresee a list," Kelly said. "But as to its implementation, we'll find out."

Councillor Doug Ford defended the mayor's decision not to share his budget savings with other councillors.

"Down here it has come to the point you can't trust these councillors," Ford said. "We aren't going to show our cards before council."

A LITTLE OFF THE TOP

Mayor Rob Ford is going into city council's 2014 budget meeting with proposals to save, he believes, more than $60 million.

Here are some of his proposals:

* $19 million -- Directing city officials to find corporate sponsorship for the Pan Am Games celebrations

* $3.1 million -- Eliminate city council's general expense fund

* $3.5 million -- Redirect $3.5 million garnered from tax assessment growth to lower the tax levy.

* $60,000 -- Eliminate city council's general travel budget

* $1 million -- Reduce council's staff salary budgets from $11.9 million to $10.9 million

* $500,000 -- Eliminate plans for a Pan Am Park splash pad at Exhibition Place

* $2.5 million -- Create a Welcome Policy registration and membership fee (The Welcome Policy provides a fee subsidy to low-income residents to access the city's recreation programs)

* $3.1 million -- Ask province to allow the city to tack on unpaid library fines to individual's property tax bills.

* $2 million -- Increase the ratio of employees to managers at Toronto Employment and Social Services

* $88,000 -- Eliminate two new full-time heritage positions in Planning department

* $350,000 -- Demand efficiencies from 311 Toronto, cracking down on absenteeism and increasing the number of calls taken per day