Toronto's draft budget for 2012 proposes to boost property taxes by 2.5 per cent, cut the city's workforce by 2,300 positions, hike TTC fares by 10 cents and hold the line on garbage fees.

At a news conference, Ford heralded the fact the property tax increase was held to 2.5 per cent, saying the city was faced with the prospect of boosting property taxes by as much as 34 per cent as it wrestled with ways to slash a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall.

"Our 2012 budget is a smart budget, it's a responsible budget, it's a budget that slams the door on out-of-control spending," Ford said after the budget was unveiled.

Ford said the property tax increase is less than the rate of inflation and will be "manageable" for taxpayers.

TTC fare hike proposed

TTC riders may see red, however, because the budget calls for individual fares to be hiked by 10 cents to $3.10 per trip. The spending blueprint also calls on the TTC to trim overtime by $23 million and boost ad revenue by $5 million.

If the draft budget is approved by city council during a vote in January, the city will spend less in 2012 than it will in 2011. Ford said it would be the first time the city will spend less "next year" than it did in the previous year because the budget includes $355 million in savings.

One of the ways the city is trimming the budget is by cutting jobs.

As expected, the staff-recommended budget, unveiled Monday morning, cuts the city's workforce by 2,300 positions. Ford has long been a proponent of slashing jobs at city hall as a way to trim costs.

Library branches will stay open, only because the city had to dig deep and find efficiencies, including trimming hours, Ford said.

By outsourcing garbage collection in neighbourhoods between Yonge Street and the Humber River, the city will save about $11.5 million annually and won't have to increase homeowners' garbage rates in 2012, Ford said.

These cost-saving measures are also outlined in the budget:

  • - Deferring the hiring of 236 police officers to save more than $14 million
  • - Holding off on hiring 68 firefighters to save $7.2 million
  • - Deferring the hiring of 36 EMS staffers to save $1.1 million
  • - Closing five wading pools that are "under used" and require costly repairs

During the news conference, Ford repeated a message he has delivered for months - that taxpayers gave him a mandate to bring spending under control at city hall when he was elected last year.

"They know we face difficult decisions," Ford said. "They expect us to make those tough decisions for them."

Ford hecklers booted from meeting

After the news conference, Ford joined the budget committee meeting and was heckled by at least two men who shouted "Shame," hurled expletives and gave Ford the finger.

The hecklers were booted from council chambers, Toronto police were brought in to provide security and the meeting was interrupted and moved to a smaller room.

The long-awaited spending plan follows months of controversy at city hall because of the deficit, a core service review to identify potential savings and the threat of widespread layoffs and cuts to things such as library hours, daycare spaces and public housing.

City hall observers believe the budget debate and vote will be a test of Ford's vision, a frequent point of criticism for his opponents, and an indicator of the mayor's support within city council.

Now that the draft budget has been introduced, a series of public consultation meetings will take place before city council holds a final vote in mid-January.

Click here to learn how to participate in the budget process.

Group protests service cuts

Meanwhile, a group calling itself "Stop the Cuts Network" protested service cuts outside city hall as Ford spoke to reporters at the news conference.

The network is a coalition of nine neighbourhood committees.

Spokeswoman Victoria Barnett said the group is challenging the Ford administration because the mayor promised not to cut services.

"Despite promising no cuts in his campaign, Ford has been slashing and burning city services and attacking workers since he took office," Barnett said in a statement. "We spent the summer fighting Ford's core services review. We forced him to delay the cuts, but we're determined to stop them once and for all. So that's why we're here. We're back to take him on as the budget comes down."

With files from CP24's Katie Simpson

@ChrisKitching is on Twitter