At a special meeting held on Monday, March 23, City Council voted 14-2 in favour of approving its operating and capital budgets. Highlights of the operating budget include:
• Property-tax hike: 2.3 per cent and a 60-cent per foot frontage levy;
• $17.7 million in vacancy management;
• $1 million "innovation capital fund" allocated to the Alternate Service Delivery (ASD) Committee;
• Elimination of Park Patrol and Park Ambassadors Program;
• A one-time bus fare hike of 5 cents and $5 dollars more per year for garbage and recycling.
In his presentation to City Council, CUPE Local 500 President Mike Davidson opposed the budget and the million dollars allocated to the Alternate Service Delivery (ASD) Committee earmarked to fund ideas for improved efficiency and service delivery.
“As we’ve said many times before, we believe public services provided by unionized staff, and provided by municipal governments directly, are the most cost efficient method of providing services," said Davidson. In our view, this allocation of $1 million dollars would be far better spent in retaining the park patrol and park ambassadors program in order to maintain and provide safe park services."
Davidson also pointed out that vacancy management is nothing more than a non-transparent erosion of the City’s frontline services.
"The bottom line is that every civic department needs adequate staffing levels in over to deliver needed public services and programs," Davidson said. "Vacancy management is not the way to run a workforce, and definitely not the way to run a pubic service."
The two city councillors that voted against the budgets were Schreyer and Dobson.
You can click here to read a copy of the Local’s presentation to City Council.
