Laments about New Year's Eve celebrations were bound to be negative regardless of what direction the City of Vancouver decided to move towards.

Happy New Year to everyone.  The site experienced some technical difficulties to start the year, but is now back and functional, with a site redesign in the works.

This story referred to in this letter made the rounds on several newscasts, blogs and publications around the city to end the year.  “Vancouver is a no-fun city…Vancouver isn’t world class…Vancouver is not capitalizing on the party spirit left over from the Olympics…City Hall has shown no leadership in getting people excited”…and on it went.

The fact of the matter is that it really didn’t matter what the City of Vancouver decided to do on New Year’s Eve…because it was inevitable that criticism would follow.

Let’s look at the alternative scenario, where tens of thousands of dollars (or more) were laid out for a big public event.  Now in spite of the fact that Vancouver seemed to grow up during the Olympics with regards to our public displays of celebration, I also think that New Year’s is a mixed bag, and that without the benefit of a big name headlining act, a public gathering would be hard pressed to attract even 5000 people.

If that had happened, the City would have been crucified for spending money on an event that a) we can’t afford due to the budget process we just went through b) didn’t have nearly enough people show up to and c) would have been classified as a way for the current Vision administration to buy people’s votes.

Yes, I am absolutely speculating on the storylines that might have played out, but I am also getting a sense that this coming election year will be an 11 month opportunity (up until the next election) for the local media, commentators and political opponents to heave criticism and scorn onto Gregor Robertson et. al, regardless of what they do.

The latest example of this previous to the manufactured stories about Vancouver’s New Year’s Eve celebrations was the latest post about poor little Stuart Mackinnon by the Georgia Straight’s Charlie Smith.

Anyone who has watch Mackinnon in action knows that he is a passive aggressive character that espouses an air of superiority, particularly when it comes to his fellow Park Board colleagues.

The fact that Mackinnon was cooperating with Ian Robertson when it is clear that their ideology about parks and recreation around the city are completely different on so many major issues has never been questioned as it should be – namely that it is a partnership borne out of political convenience rather than conviction.

But once again, the slant is that the Vision Vancouver Commissioners are trying to intimidate and bully the poor, defenseless Green party representative who has a passion for the work and a heart of gold about his intentions.

Excuse me while I gag.

These kinds of stories seem like a precursor to what is about to come over the next year.  Vision Vancouver began as a juggernaut, and has had a relatively successful couple of years in office.  The local media don’t seem to like that – Sam Sullivan was an easy whipping boy for them, but Robertson isn’t in the same category, further angering a group of journalists that feeds off of false controversy and manufactured outrage.

Has the Vision administration been perfect in its strategies with regards to the media and some of its initiatives?  Far from it.  There are number of political decisions and subsequent actions for which they have had to pay for.

But to have a group of reporters that seem hell bent on finding those chinks in the armour of Robertson and his team seems completely out of line.

A new slate has been established for many in this year of 2011…maybe the the powers that be within the local media should wipe each of theirs clean and take a different approach in their coverage of the civic political scene in Vancouver.

City Hall provides some amazing pay and benefits for staff, but the elected officials don't exactly enjoy the same standard.

A paltry pay increase to the Mayor and Council of Vancouver is long overdue, but as the article points out, our city is woeful when it comes to compensating out local representatives.

City Council is usually described as a half-time job, allowing for Councillors to maintain other employment.  The reality of the situation is a far different story, however.

Between Council meetings, appearances and events, constituent meetings, caucus meetings, reading and briefings and dealing with city staff, it is nearly impossible to be able to maintain any kind of professional normalcy away from City Hall.

I have never ascribed the act of seeking public office as a means to become rich, because aside from being a fallacy, it clearly involves more motivation than financial gain.  That being said, the new figure of $63,610 still seems a long way off from properly compensating Councillors for the 60+ hour weeks they put in for a “half-time” job.

If you’re on the Park Board, you’re even worse off.

Park Board Commissioners make approximately $12,000 a year for what I have been told can constitute working weeks of 20-30 hours – with no increase in sight any time soon.

A city of Vancouver’s size, particularly with an at large system, means that responsibilities are for more pronounced than the other cities listed in the above-linked article.

Now while I don’t think that municipal parties have had trouble attracting quality candidates, future generations of candidates are going to be heavily courted by a number of industries facing the crunch of demographics.

Public service is honourable and worthy of respect, yet as we have all seen over the past few years, the level of personal, professional and character attacks on elected officials has reached an all-time high – particularly in this city.

Couple this with the deep personal sacrifices one makes with regards to their relationships and families, and the fact that the wages do not in any way match up to the overall output of what is required in the job, and I feel as though the appeal of political office will continue to dwindle.  And if you don’t believe me, just talk to the NPA.

With the rate of increase that the Vancouver Mayor and Council are attached to, they will never catch up to their counterparts across Canada.  The kind of salary adjustment needed to be on par would require of an act of Council by way of a vote – a scenario that is unlikely to ever happen.

Like them or hate them, agree with them or not, your elected officials in Vancouver are working hard for their money.  They deserve our respect and our gratitude for the time that they put into representing our best interests.

• A great piece by my friend Ian Davey on the power of change being behind the Rob Ford incoming term.   Here is the key quote of relevance to the Vancouver civic political scene: “Governments change when voters decide they are incompetent and/or untrustworthy. Competence is the standard measure of good government and as such is the primary driver of change. Trust is a less tangible measure and untrustworthiness is principally a by-product of incompetent government.”  This is the storyline that the NPA is going to have try and write about Vision Vancouver, and I have a feeling that not only do they not have the individuals necessary to deliver such a message, but they also don’t have a record that lends itself to supporting such a tale.   To the candidates just nominated over the weekend, good luck…you have a long and difficult road ahead of you.

• Solving homelessness is clearly an issue area in which Mayor Gregor Robertson has predicated his entire Mayoralty on, and clearly something that he is in line for scrutiny over.  And to actually house the homeless population, we have a long way to go before we reach his goal of eliminating street homelessness by 2015.  That being said, on nights like the last few, I have to say that these HEAT shelters plus additional emergency shelter beds, which came about as a result of the City showing leadership and the Provincial government coming to the table with vital funding, have been a Godsend.  With an estimated 500 homeless sleeping on the streets of Vancouver, these 612 beds are a good start to keeping people during extreme temperatures.

• While the Vancouver School Board teeters on the verge of having their powers pulled by the Liberal government at any one time, the Vancouver Park Board and the ongoing legacy being built was on full display on Saturday night at COPE’s “Power of the Park Board” event.  The tradition of the Park Board is to set an independent course separate from City Council, and Saturday’s event, and the series of videos produced by Brent Granby, showed how much strength resides in the institution.  With the City facing $20 million in cuts, it will be interesting to see how the current incarnation of the Park Board fares in comparison to other City departments facing cutbacks.

• Speaking of cutbacks, Stuart MacKinnon’s commentary about this being the least progressive Park Board in history reeks of his typical political grandstanding style.  Is instituting fees for toddlers ideal?  Absolutely not.  But what MacKinnon’s fails to mention is that these kinds of fees are common in many neighbouring municipalities, and that Vancouver’s fee structure is still one of the lowest in the region.  Stuart is able to pontificate from the outside because he never has had to deal with the kinds of realities of budgeting that a government has to encounter.  I am predicting that the rumoured $2 million in cuts will be significantly less in the end.  But regardless, to take a position that there should be no more cuts in spite of other vital services feeling the pinch, MacKinnon clearly shows that he is more comfortable sitting and lobbing criticism in opposition than making the tough decisions necessary when you are elected to lead by the people.  If times are tough, then cuts across the board are realistic and responsible.  How the Vision Vancouver caucus manages and fights to mitigate these cuts, however, is the way in which they should be judged on their performance – NOT by adopting ridiculous and unworkable positions as Stuart seems to suggest.

• Gregor Robertson’s commentary on the Olympic Village being put into receivership demonstrates that the City is now in a position of strength to recover the money lent to the Malek brothers, and at the very minimum break even on this project.  Real estate marketing guru Bob Rennie is preaching an approach of patience, while commentators like Bob Ransford – Peter Ladner’s former campaign manager – has written about how the decisions made by former City Manager Judy Rogers were clearly not in the taxpayers’ interest.  This is far from a perfect situation, but Robertson’s vision to take over the financing of the project has now allowed the City to have the maximum amount of control to now roll out the sales and loan recovery in the most prudent and lucrative way possible.  Here is a nugget from a Jeff Lee article over the weekend that is very telling: ”
  The carrying costs to the city are far less than the amounts the now-ousted owners of the former Olympic athletes’ village had to pay, the city said Thursday. That’s because the bank interest rate the city pays is less than half the rate it was charging Millennium Developments.”  Vancouverites should feel a lot more relieved now that there is a little stability being inserted into the mess created by the NPA.

• Melissa De Genova isn’t the only candidate for the Park Board in next year’s election that emerged over the weekend.  Brent Granby, who is the President of the West End Residents Association, also announced that he too will be running.  One only knows if Loretta Woodcock will run for fourth term for COPE (if I was to guess, I would say that scenario is unlikely), but Granby will be a great candidate for the party should they be left without an incumbent next year.

• Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but is anyone else shocked that being designated a “Cultural Capital” of Canada only carries a federal contribution of $1.75 million?  Regardless, the tours of city institutions that the public doesn’t get to see seems cheap and intriguing, and I am sure that City staff will live up to the legacy they left during the Olympics, which invigourated the civic pride and involvement from residents.  Rest assured, though, that the fun will be had by the City ponying up $7 million to celebrate Vancouver’s 125th birthday, not by the meagre contribution of the federal government.  Sign of  times I guess.

That’s all for now folks.  Enjoy the crisp and frosty air…it is beautiful to breathe in.

Taxis lined up on Toronto streets is a common occurrence as drivers are really struggling under the weight of higher fares and far too many cabs on the road to sustain viable numbers.

This is an important piece from Councillor Geoff Meggs about the taxi industry.

Like I wondered a few weeks back, it is amazing how cab drivers are able to make enough to feed their families:

“Although Vancouver has the lowest number of cabs per capita of any major Canadian city, no one is arguing that taxi driving is a ticket to wealth. Cab driving is made up of long hours of unemployment punctuated by periods of intense activity. A driver sitting waiting for a fare is paying the car owner for the privilege.”

Let me tell you that the Ambassador licenses in Toronto have made driving cab in Toronto a very tough proposition, and rates have risen to the highest in the country.

A similar idea in Vancouver might very well lead to a mass exodus of drivers from the industry, largely because the living offered by the job would not be enough to make the long hours worth a driver’s while.

Meanwhile, there is one company that continues to baffle logic when it comes to their recent moves.

Yellow Cab is pushing for temporary licenses to be issued during the winter months, and have actually bypassed the City of Vancouver in their lobbying efforts.

They are working with the Transportation deputy minister as well as the deputy minister in charge of ICBC to put a proposal together.

The funny thing is, however, that the majority of the drivers within the fleet have absolutely no idea what their executive and GM is doing in this regard.

Talk to any Yellow Cab driver on the road right now, and it is likely that he will say that there is not enough business as things stand now, and new licenses would be very harmful to their livelihood.

But as I mentioned last week, new licenses on the road means more cash in the pockets of the owners/shareholders, rendering the considerations of the drivers largely irrelevant when it comes to the decisions being made by the powers that be.

The Association of Pacific Taxi Owners (APTO) have been staunch in their position that no new licenses are required on the road.

That being said, the APTO have also put in a letter many months ago to the Passenger Transportation Board requesting they look into temporary licenses to be issued for Friday and Saturday nights in the downtown core.

This is a move to address the concerns raised by CTV, which correctly showed the backlog that exists for the hour after people are leaving the clubs on those two nights.

But putting new licenses on the road 24/7 would decimate the industry. A cab owner I rode with yesterday showed me $167.00 of business he had done at 2:30 in the afternoon (he had begun his shift at 4:00 in the morning). Now my quick math once again shows that even an owner is having a hard time making minimum wage within the current economic climate.

Meggs gets it – anything that can be done to improve customer service and satisfaction WITHOUT making the industry’s viability suspect is a move that he is willing to take. Balance must be exercised with an industry that is so fragile.

It’s a shame that the leadership at Yellow Cabs aren’t able or willing to exercise that same kind of approach as it continues to push ahead with its narrow interests.