Inspiration for Gregor Robertson and Penny Ballem as they shape the upcoming budget.
Just read over the administrative report from the General Manager of Financial Services to City Council on the 2010 Operating Budget estimates.
“Council had provided direction in a number of areas that helped inform the 2010 Budget strategy:
- Minimize property tax increases over two to three years
- Maintain all necessary health and safety standards
- Protect services to vulnerable populations
- Protect arts and culture
- Invest in economic development including optimize Olympic opportunity
- Support greenest city initiatives
- Examine the service delivery of all city services and streamline to make more efficient
- Strategically implement any reductions to services to minimize the impact as much as possible on citizens and staff”
A couple of thoughts:
- I like clearly outlined priorities from any level of government. I might not agree with them, but if you were elected on a platform, and you then stick to those commitments in spite of difficult financial times, that is political will which is worthy of respect.
- Obviously, the question that hasn’t been answered is what is going to be cut (with the exception of the Park Board decision to end subsidies to the petting zoo and the conservatory). This is what I suspect will carry public opinion on the budget.
- Committing to small tax increases is something that on the surface isn’t necessary considering a recent Park Board survey noted that 80 per cent of respondents said while they weren’t fans of higher prices, they’d be willing to pay more to ensure the continuation of services. Then again, offering support for tax increases when services are being cut is a hell of a lot different than actually paying the bill silently when it arrives in the mail. A decision has been made not to subsidize duplication and finite, specialized services and attractions on the backs of all Vancouver taxpayers, and politically as well as fiscally, that is the smartest and most responsible decision that can be made.
- The maintenance of the funding for arts and culture is huge, and largely influenced by a provincial government that has decimated many organizations by its dramatic cutbacks. I play in the West Coast Symphony, and our bingo revenues are now gone, forcing the orchestra to seek out other sources of funding just to maintain our practice space. This is a solid decision by Council that is absolutely necessary in a time where arts and culture more often than not falls to the bottom of the funding pool.
- The fact that the city has been able to get concessions from the VPD is stunning. For years, City Council has bowed to the pressure of the VPD for more funding, and increased the presence of funding for more officers on the streets even with the money promised from Ottawa (the 2008 federal budget committed $400 million over five years to put 2,500 new police officers on Canadian streets) is stalled. The fact that the VPD is working with the City to ensure that budgets are reeled in is a fantastic sign of cooperation from a department that usually relies on public opinion to communicate its messages regarding their budget.
Again, anticipation grows as the final announcements of what exactly is on the chopping block are looming.
