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Rob Ford is one step closer to keeping his promise to kill the $60 vehicle-registration tax.

The mayor's hand-picked executive committee voted unanimously to scrap the fee Thursday at a meeting dedicated almost entirely to campaign pledges Mr. Ford believes he can fulfill at council next week.

The executive also endorsed slashing councillors' office budgets by 40 per cent; reducing the mayor's office budget by 20 per cent; condensing the 2011 budget timetable; and asking the province to make Toronto Transit Commission strikes illegal.

The executive committee's decisions are subject to council approval.

"Everybody hated this [personal vehicle] tax. It was a huge mistake," said Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, a member of the executive in both the Ford and David Miller eras who voted for the tax in 2007.

If the tax dies Jan. 1, motorists who paid for two-year plate renewals would receive a refund for next year's amount.

But those with December birthdays will still have to pay the tax for 2010, even if they try to renew their plates in January.

"Jesus is going to have pay for his renewal," Councillor Peter Milczyn, a supporter of the proposal, said jokingly.

Although the executive members enthusiastically supported killing the tax by Jan. 1 – as opposed to by Sept. 1, the three-year anniversary of the tax – the mayor's rivals raised concerns about how the city would make up the estimated $64-million in lost revenue next year.

"It's very unfortunate to be making this decision in the dark," said Councillor Janet Davis, adding she could support scrapping the tax if she knew how Mr. Ford plans to make up the money.

Questions from left-leaning councillors about how Mr. Ford could keep his promises of eliminating the vehicle fee, freezing property taxes and holding the line on the operating budget without "major service cuts" dominated much of the committee's time Thursday.

The mayor has ordered the city manager to produce a draft budget that meets those guidelines by Jan. 10, with an eye to council signing off on the budget by February, two months earlier than normal.

Despite a higher-than-expected 2010 surplus, the municipal government is still about $210-million in the hole for 2011, assuming council sides with Mr. Ford on killing the vehicle-registration tax.

"We don't foresee any service cuts at all," Mr. Ford insisted. "Whatever terminology you want to use, minor or major, we have the money."

Mr. Ford also won the support of Doug Holyday, his deputy mayor, on asking the province to designate the TTC an essential service.

Mr. Holyday opposed the move in 2008 because a staff report and a C.D. Howe Institute study predicted an essential services designation would drive up the cost of future contracts.

"I'm on the mayor's team and this is very important to the mayor," Mr. Holyday said.

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