By Pepper Parr
November 18th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
We have begun the process of setting out what each Council member of Council is doing for you or to you with their Notices of Motion; the process that has Council debating the changes they want to see made to the Mayor’s Budget which is now public.
This is a complex subject and the approach to getting a budget in place is just as complex.
The Notices of Motion for Kelvin Galbraith ward 1 Councillor and for Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns are about to be published; the others will follow.
There are a number of links below that will help you get the background information you might find useful.
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I have briefly reviewed the motions of Galbraith and Kearns. Galbraith, in general, seems to ‘get it’. Full marks on the deletions. I find that his additions lack sufficient justification. At the other end of the scale is Kearns who really seems to be firmly planted in her ‘digital dream world’. Honestly, you don’t correct the mistakes and lack of performance of the past by throwing new staff at them. Have the existing staff produce for a change – and reject the digital bafflegab disguised as business cases that staff presented to Council. I recognized such almost immediately at the Ward 3 budget meeting because 20 years ago I wrote much the same thing (but much better) in support of new provincial I&IT enterprise projects. We delivered btw.
Here’s a thought – why not consolidate common, non-core operational functions such as I&IT, purchasing, fleet management etc. at the Regional level? Create depth of resource support and expertise, maximize economies of scale and process, and concentrate on local programs that need to be delivered as close to the client as possible. Stop the ‘roll your own’, ‘must be created here’ mentality that seems to permeate this level of government and select ‘best of breed’ solutions that have proven success in comparable jurisdictions.
Finally, please don’t forget that the special levy on property taxes for the Hospital Expansion was never ended. It was simply converted, with little public input, into funding infrastructure. Indeed, another insidious tax increase that went largely unremarked and unreported.
Oh – “Seasonal Downtown Beautification Coordinator”??!! – Really!!!