Well, a tale of one city under two very different administrations.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” cries the first line of Dickens’ classic A Tale of Two Cities.
Depending on your point of view, Vancouver could currently fit into either of those two descriptions, particularly with very difficult budget restraints just around the corner.
That being said, I want to point out the different approaches taken by two different civic administrations to two different civic crises.
- The Civic Strike of 2007 saw 5,000 workers off the job for three months, shutting down all civic services such as library service, garbage collection and child care.
At the height of the dispute, the Mayor told the Globe and Mail that the strike was not his “top priority,” and one year later admitted that he “chose to not have any role in it.”
The City Manager didn’t bother showing up to negotiations and when she did she attempted to poison them by playing politics and distributing a confidential memo to staff that accused unions of using the strike to defeat the NPA in the next election.
Oh, and you had former NPA councillor Kim Capri introducing a motion at the height of the strike to encourage restaurants, consumers, wholesalers and retailers to support free-range chicken eggs,
- The Financial Crunch of 2009 has cut development permit revenues in half, and combined with wage increases from the 2007 city-wide labour dispute, puts the city in a deficit position of about $60 million.
In response, the Mayor has just unveiled a comprehensive economic development strategy in close consultation with the VEDC for the first time in two decades.
The City Manager has opened up the books to provide unprecedented access to information regarding the financial downturn and the city’s response.
Finally, the chair of the City of Vancouver’s Finance Committee Councillor Raymond Louie has directed staff to look into how the shortfall can be addressed without placing the burden on the backs of property owners. Whether that is at all possible is another story, but at the very least, the councillors of the governing caucus are engaged on the issue and ready to examine all available options.
So there you have it – a nonchalant response backed by a poliitcally manipulative City Manager compared to a proactive approach supported by a City Manager willing to offer transparency and openness on a very difficult issue to the media and the public.
And as per usual, spinning to cover up past shortfalls is just the normal course of action with the previous crew over at City Hall.
