Mayor John Tory says he is not satisfied that TTC management has ‘looked under every cushion’ to find ways to cut costs in its operating budget.

The mayor spoke to CP24 about the transit agency’s budget woes following reports in two Toronto newspapers that suggest the TTC is struggling to find ways to meet the city’s directive that all city departments reduce their budget by 2.6 per cent.

The Toronto Sun says it obtained a copy of a memo TTC Andy Byford sent to the city’s Chief Financial Officer this week that indicated the transit agency is still facing $149 million in budget pressures even after identifying $82 million in cost savings for 2017.

“I am encouraging them, the very good management team under Mr. Byford over there, to continue with their work because I’m not satisfied they have found all that they could find,” Tory told CP24 Thursday.

“I think there is more money to be found. We owe it to the taxpayers to say we have look under every cushion, under every rock to find every penny we can save and that I don’t think they have done that work yet.”

Tory did not discuss a comment he made to The Sun about the possibility of bringing in a task force or consultant to help the TTC make the cuts.

“Every family out there, every small business, they have to go through the same exercise, every big business does, and so I’m just saying to them (the TTC), please continue your work,” Tory added.

TTC spokesperson Brad Ross refused to comment on the memo Thursday.

“The TTC continues to work on its 2017 operating budget. We were asked to provide the City with possible 2017 budget reductions by Aug 2, which we did. This is an exercise all City departments and their ABCs were asked to undertake,” Ross said in an email to CP24.

“It (the memo) reflects a work-in-progress to-date by TTC staff – it is not a final budget submission. As such, the TTC will neither comment on nor respond to the contents of the memo. Staff will, of course, answer questions and speak to the TTC’s budget when it is presented publicly for consideration.”