By Pepper Parr
September 13th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Earlier this week we wrote about behaviour at city hall.
As I was doing my daily media review I came across the following in the Opinion section of the New York Times:
“What sort of people do we want to be? What sort of values and manners do we want to see reflected in our national leaders? Who do we want shaping the nation’s social atmosphere? As Daniel Patrick Moynihan ( a former United States Senator who is credited with the statement – You can you’re your own opinions but you can’t have your own facts) famously noted, culture matters most, but government can change culture.
This is the opportunity that BRAG faces – they are focused at the moment on taxes but there is more to that organization that just taxes. BRAG president Eric Stern noted in a comment earlier today that:
We are committed to the following ideals:
Responsible Financial Management
Flood Mitigation
Environmental Sustainability
Traffic Congestion
Development
Strong Mayor Powers
Community Engagement
Right now, the budget is a priority, as it is being prepared now and the city is asking for feedback.
Related news story.
So BRAG is focused on the budget, then put a list of items they’d like which will all cost money? How do they propose to pay for flood Mitigation? Or Traffic congestion?
Editor’s note: You need to pay closer attention Burlington Bob – BRAG listed a lot of issues and said that at this point taxes were their focus – and given that the Mayor’s budget is about to fall on us – I’d say they are on target. You might want to congratulate them for their efforts.
Bob, the issues in Burlington are complicated. Solutions are going to cost money and take time. BRAG thinks solutions should be developed in cooperation with residents. We are going to see the full budget on November 4th, our council will vote to approve the budget on November 25th. That’s not enough time for residents to understand the budget, share information, gather ideas, and provide input.
Flooding has to be addressed, there will be a report soon. Will we see a tax increase above the 8.04% on the table now? Should the city look at cutting consulting fees or stop working on some other projects, for example updating the engagement charter, to help pay for flood mitigation or should it all just go on the backs of taxpayers? One resident suggested permeable pavement, other cities use this, will Burlington? Why wasn’t flooding addressed after the 2014 floods?
Traffic – city policy is more bike lanes, no road widening for additional traffic, dedicated lanes for buses without adding additional lanes (staff has proposed Plains Road with one lane, in each direction, for cars, and one lane, in each direction for buses). Does that sound like a solution? If the province keeps approving high rises don’t we need a solution for traffic?
The budget is topical but the underlying issue is engagement.
BRAG is about Burlington please share your ideas with us and hopefully we can, collectively, find real solutions.
If the topic is engagement why has BRAG been silent on the Procedure Bylaw?
This document is a year late and they didn’t include the results of the survey that was the sole public engagement on the issue.
They haven’t addressed any of the responses they got from the survey with regards to timing of meetings.
Apparently this needs to be rushed through on Tuesday because the Mayor, CAO and some councillors are off on a junket to Japan.
And Mr Editor you need to read better. Taxes was just ONE of the issues listed and they cost money. In Eric’s own reply he contradicts himself acknowledging the flood mitigation will cost money and in the same breath wonders if the budget increase will be over 8%
Cutting. Onsultsnts sounds lovely but you tell me which mayor or member of council has the experience at flood mitigation to make an informed decision?
You ask for more engagement and in the same breath want consultants eliminated, so ask the uninformed citizens but not experts? pulleeze
We think you missed “a safe city accessible to all”. We presume you use the pier in the logo as it is a great example of a huge unnecessary expenditure for the single purpose of creating a viewing platform. A city icon that creates a dividing line between the have and have not residents. Those who have the ability to enjoy the views and those who don’t as their need for mobility devices places the top rail in
the centre of their view, throughout the entire pier. This represents a city that since 2014 has been building barriers not removing them as legislation requires.
The most current example that fits this category is, of course, Civic Square and how a City Manager bowing to “council will” set aside a previous council decision to eliminate safety and access issues at a cost of around $1 Mill. Because of bowing instead of following common sense and following through on a legitimate council decision, the safety and access issues remain and will do until 2026, unless the province steps in, at a blown up cost of around $10 m.
Last night we were honoured along with many others as Community Champions. Councillor Galbraith representing Council at the event, could not miss the 2.1/2 ft. X 2.1/2 ft banner sporting a photo of us both, entitled Advocating for Barrier Free Communities. We assume his congratulatory address included us and he would, therefore support our “dog with a bone ” efforts with regard to a safe and accessible city.