When Rob Ford became mayor, he quickly set about cutting taxes and re-organizing the city's transit strategy. Next, he wants to tackle the way the city is operated.

Before Ford became mayor -- claiming a sizeable election victory last October and taking the reigns in December -- he was known as the councillor who didn't spend money and always returned phone calls.

Before that, he was a business man who ran his family's printing business. It's no wonder that even now, in his position at City Hall, he tacks high priority to customer service.

Ford believes the city has to operate like a business, and no business can be messy or treat customers poorly if it wants to be successful. Overcharging customers is also a bad move, he says.

"People are going to have more money in their pockets," Ford told CTV Toronto in a year-end interview.

"We'll have more business in the city and we're going to have a clean, safe city. There won't be graffiti … you can never eliminate all, but it'll be a lot cleaner," he said.

"The city will be open for business and we're going to run it just like a business."

When Ford became mayor at the start of December, he quickly set about checking campaign promises off of his list. He led council in a vote that ended a $60 vehicle registration tax and saved taxpayers $64 million in 2011 alone.

Council also voted to cut councillor's expense accounts by 40 per cent, and moved to make the TTC an essential service.

Over the next year, Ford says he will focus on customer service at City Hall, another promise made during his successful mayoral campaign.

"If civil servants or councillors aren't returning their call in 24 hours or, worst case scenario, 48 hours, then I have to know about it. I'll investigate it and make sure the problem is rectified. Customer service is number one," he said.

Ford was popular during his time as a councillor because he responding to phone calls and emails quickly. While some doubted his ability to maintain that habit as mayor, he says he still does his best, despite getting up to 300 calls every day.

"I used to return calls in 24 hours, but I used to get 40 or 50 as a councillor. Now it takes me at least a week to return someone's call. But I will return it."

Another part of Ford's business plan is cleaning up the storefront. Shortly after taking office, he quietly launched an anti-graffiti program. Until further notice, 10 bylaw officers are exclusively dedicating their time to graffiti removal.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Alicia Markson