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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦

@henrikbechmann.bsky.social
472 followers 1.2K following 1.8K posts

Retired software dev. IMO government is a collective enterprise, and should be fully transparent and forcefully managed for all, and for the health of the planet. I used to discuss City of Toronto budget design and support issues (for about a decade...)

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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Matt did you know that Toronto had a windfall of ~$6.7B during the *pandemic*? Was that communicated clearly to Toronto by City staff (generally, or in budgets)? <rhetorical>. My recollection is that they continued with their "we're broke" narrative during that time.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Here come the black clouds of Mordor. Thunder heard.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Claude, ever helpful, corrected me. Audit->plan->implementation is NOT the most efficient and effective way to chew through complex issues. Instead it offered the attached, which can be used as a prompt, and invoked with 'bounded space, then guards'. Bounded space = audit.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
www.netflix.com/title/80022611 Good movie.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
For a really weird time (over-the-top scifi) watch borderlands. Starring Cate Blanchett, the cute-as-a-button Arianna Greenblatt, and an all star cast. www.netflix.com/title/81586196
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Here's the revenue chart. Not surprisingly mostly taxes and transfers.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Here's the line chart. Not particularly illuminating. But it's notable how big the health costs are, and how fast they're rising, in spite of all the austerity. The goal I'd set was to understand why the large Ontario deficit in spite of all the austerity. Health? One has to wonder: mis-management?
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Here's expense data. This is the stacked chart. Taken from the 'Statement of Operations' dataset. All generated by Gemini. /3
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
I'm into fried (ie. crispy) wraps these days. This one is filled with home made bean loaf, and some salsa. I'll probably try that filling with some cheese next.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Not that according to Gemini capital expenditures are relatively trivial overall. Does anyone know if this is reasonable?
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Capital
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
I asked Gemini to change the vertical labels to M$ (more readable) Operating:
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Capital payments by sector:
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
First pass at Ontario Public Accounts 2024-2025. Proxy (using detailed schedule payments data.ontario.ca/dataset/publ...). Entirely generated by Gemini (so probably has errors). (I'm just probing a bit here) Operating payments by sector:
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Paul Krugman's oil price scenarios. $99 -$372 per barrel. They're all feasible. paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-oil-cr...
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Looks like those stairs (and the community garden) are still there, per Google maps.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Would it have been better to leave this in place?
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Google AI's view of my political leanings 👇 Not bad.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Happy International Women's Day everybody!
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
I just got this 👇 in an email from Toronto Hydro. They're using the "X" platform to report power outages in Toronto. Seriously?!? X has become a toxic platform, and should not be used by credible public institution.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
I'm not sure what to call this (some kind of stew I guess), but it's a staple of mine. 2 packs of cremini mushrooms 4 good sized onions some hazelnuts and almonds (maybe just over a cup total) 7-ish herbs and spices (savory) 1 litre pressure cooked beans (any type -- this is kidney beans) /2
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
Here's the City's non-normalized version. Concise but unclear.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
Here, by way of example, is the Parks and Rec *normalized* 2026 Budget by Category (revised from Appendix 1 of its Budget Notes). Clear separation of concerns.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Here is a listing of the $340M, received via an FOI request.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Every year the City of Toronto external auditor reverses Toronto budget revenues and expenses for certain classes of recoveries and discounts. In 2022 it was $312M for internal cost recoveries, and $340M for other offsets; a total of $652M budget overstatements on their own.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
Here's a fragment from the 2026 Winnipeg Operating Budget showing that "Capital Related Expenditures" (what I call "Internal Transfers") are correctly isolated from revenue and expenses. Sensible presentation. But Toronto conflates these with revenue and expenses. www.winnipeg.ca/media/5071
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
Maybe this side by side format would help the City feel better about switching to a normalized operating budget format. Note that the City's non-normalized total is $18.9Bm(way over-stated)
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
And here's a venn diagram of the municipal innovation model.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
The add leadership capabilities to the OECD model
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
They use the OECD's definition of city innovation.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
I think this is interesting. The categories of municipal capabilities investigated in relation to innovation capacity.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
They're focussing on municipal governments. Do any of the attached points look familiar? (rhetorical)
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
It looks like one of the ways Toronto reduced its operating budget for 2026 was to eliminate capital costs from the operating budget. If true would be a good thing. Used to be ~$200M as "Transfers from Capital". See eg engineering.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Toronto actually had a financial windfall during the pandemic.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Here's me
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
I used to store my weekly salads in 2 big plastic containers (it's a bachelor thing). But now I'm trying individual servings. Grab 'n' eat. 2 a day is about right. My gut is much happier when I eat salads.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Did you know that the City of Toronto had a windfall of ~$6.7B during the pandemic?
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Did you know that City of Toronto operating budgets are over-stated by billions of dollars?
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
I corrected the notes on this normalized budget example
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Here's a 2026 "normalized" budget which is closer to the truth (not all information is available to entirely remove the problems). It's actually a ~$17B budget of which ~$15.8B is expenses (not ~18.9B). A normalized budget would be easier to read and compare with previous years and actuals.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Here's the City of Toronto's definition of its operating budget ("day-to-day"). But in fact its operating budget includes transfers to and from reserves (which are neither day-to-day revenues or expenditures), and discounts and reserves which are wrongly treated as expenses and revenues.
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
Fascinating discussion with Gabriel Zucman (albeit a bit technical) mostly about the extreme power of the super rich. Notably: the super rich are systematically buying and influencing a majority of large media enterprises. www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-XU...
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
2026 City of Toronto normalized operating budget by allocation
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
2026 City of Toronto normalized operating budget by functional domain
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
2026 City of Toronto normalized operating budget by functional taxonomy
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
2026 City of Toronto normalized operating budget by organizational domain
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
2026 City of Toronto normalized operating budget by organizational taxonomy
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
2026 City of Toronto normalized operating budget by resource grouping
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Here is a normalized 2026 City of Toronto Budget by Resource Grouping
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Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 @henrikbechmann.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Here's some more organizational detail. The organizational taxonomy is taken mostly from the City's budget summary spreadsheets.
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