It's gonna get messy

(December 08) - City council goes through the next step of its budget setting process tonight. Last week councillors heard from staff. They were told what they can afford, and when they can buy it. Tonight they hear from citizens. You can tell them what you want them to spend money on. Next week they hear from themselves. They’ll debate and decide.

According to a report from the CAO, Hans Loewig, just staying even would mean a 9.2 per cent budget increase. More than half of this, he says, results from a projected revenue shortfall of $8.1 million in 2010. The rest is from contractual commitments. This alone sets up a mess. It gets worse when you see the proposed measures to reduce the increase to 4.5%, or to 3%.

By last Saturday, 31 people were on the list to speak to council about the projected cuts. Scan down the list and you can bet there won’t be many speaking in favour.

One proposal is to recover $667,000 by eliminating free on-street parking at downtown meters. Downtown business owners will be there to say why this is a bad idea.

Forty-two thousand can be saved by closing Lyon’s pool. Those who use it to cool down are pretty hot.

Ending sidewalk snow plowing will save about a hundred thousand. Ending bus service on stat holidays, cutting back a meal program for seniors, forcing all staff to take five days off a year without pay, and staff layoffs are all on the table. Opponents of each cut are on the speakers’ list. Probably some supporters as well.

It’s going to be messy. This is the election-year budget, and our councillors have not left themselves any wiggle room. Someone somewhere in town is hurt by each proposed cut. The capital budget picture was bad enough. It is spreading into the operating one. This is where the pain will be even more acute. It is also where most of tonight’s delegations are coming from.

No one wants to see a nine per cent property tax increase, but what will we give up to avoid one? Sidewalk snow plowing? Fine if you can depend on property owners to do it. We all know that many won’t. Still fine if you are reasonably healthy and get about in an upright manner. If you have some mobility challenges, you need a clear path. The city has a responsibility to provide one.

Should we cut funding to the neighbourhood groups? Two Rivers, Onward Willow, Waverley Drive, Brant Avenue, Hanlon Creek and others provide good services to families all over town. They do things like community gardens, breakfast programs, clothing exchanges, children’s activities for PD days when parents still have to get to work.

Who wants to see downtown businesses strangled? Who wants to see people put out of work? Who wants to see access to youth sports programs reduced? Or participation fees increased?

A tax decrease today always leads to an increase in out-of-pocket expenses tomorrow. It always has and it always will.

If the only way to get from a 9.2% to a 4.5% or 3% increase is to nickel and dime our citizens to death, we have failed badly as a community.

It doesn’t have to happen. There is one construction project that will cost us about $16 million. That’s what we are spending to help the province build a cloverleaf on the Hanlon at Clair Road. We should step back. Tell the province it is the wrong project at the wrong time. Just say no and put our money into people instead.