Chair of the budget committee sets out what was achieved and then points to the downsides and the problems we are facing.

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON  March 20, 2012   When someone tells you they wear two hats – you pause and wonder which hat is going to be given the most attention, which one will have money spent on it to have it blocked and cleaned regularly so that it looks new and spiffy.

While the phrase “spiffy” may not be normally applied to Ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven, his performance at the Council meeting Monday was “spiffy” from several perspectives.

Burlington's historical tax rate. That is one wobbly line. Have we seen benefits that match the spending?

He addressed Council as Chair of the budget committee and said: “Overall it’s a good budget. It meets a number of Council’s objectives.  Staff was directed to bring back a budget with an increase below 3.5% and…. at 3.29% that’s what we and staff accomplished together in the end.  This is below the tax increases in the other three lower tier Halton municipalities.  Combined with 1.3% at Region, the result is 1.79% total tax increase (about the level of inflation) or about $17 per hundred thousand dollars in assessment. Continued talk about Burlington taxes being out of line is, in my view, simply unjustified.”

In the 2012 budget, said the chair, we:

Removed the hard cap on staffing, which does not fully address our staffing challenges, but is at least a step in the right direction

We increased funding to the capital budget

We increased funding for the dedicated infrastructure renewal levy by $350,000

 We increased funding to the  shave and pave program by  $850,000 for a total of $1.2 million

We provided funding to our Strategic Land Acquisition Fund

 We planned for expenditures related to our strategic plan

We provided funding for major improvements in e-government programs

Continued collection of funds for our commitment to the Joseph Brant Hospital

$1.2 million from surplus

$1.2 million from 2012 taxes.

Craven chaired the meetings that brought all this about and he did so with dispatch and efficiency that certainly wasn’t seen last year when newbie Councillor Sharman held the reigns.

Councillor Craven then changed hats and spoke as the Council member for Ward 1, and as he is want to remind council at every occasion possible: “It’s called Ward number 1 for a reason”.  The water is a little different in Aldershot.

Rick Craven knows his Ward, understands what his constituents need and they appear to think he's great. Is there a life beyond city hall for Craven?

Craven said he thought there is a down side to this budget and it has to do with our focus on short term rather than long-term needs.  He said:

“Staffing remains a problem:  I know it’s not popular, but the reality is that we remain short staffed in many areas including: firefighting, Bylaw enforcement, Engineering, and Corporate Strategic Initiatives.

“We will need to hire more staff for the Alton Community Centre and probably for the new Transit initiatives being talked about.  Let me remind you what staff told us in one of their reports….

” There are insufficient financial and human resources to support all existing services, add resources to respond to community growth and support enhance service delivery. “

“City staff in many areas of the organization are feeling the strain. Some of the indicators include vacation time earned being deferred and not taken, increased overtime requirements, time lost has increased and in Executive Budget Committees view, this trend must stop in order to maintain an engaged workforce”

“In my view, it is fallacy to believe the Boards can continue to operate well with budget increases at 2%. This hardly meets inflation. If we are serious about these services, we need to support them at a higher level, or we will pay the price in the long run.”

Finally, although there seems to be an increasing awareness of the challenges related to the infrastructure renewal gap, and some progress has been made, there is still much to be done.  Again, I turn to the staff reports ….

“Data suggests that funding is still below the amounts needed to maintain existing assets. The City is currently funding only 64% of its renewal needs, resulting in an estimated infrastructure gap of approximately $17 million annually, demonstrating significant unmet needs in repairing and renewing the city’s assets”.

“So, while I applaud the progress we are making, in my view, it is not enough to serve the best, long term interests of the City .”

There you have it from the guy that constantly and consistently reminds Council that running a city is serious business – and if Rick Craven is anything, he is serious – and right more often than not.

 

 

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