Please be advised that the process for the 2008 Preliminary Operating Budget has been announced.
IMPORTANT TIMELINES/DATES
Note: All of these meetings will be held at the Council Building, 510 Main St, 2nd Floor.
Thursday, March 6th, 11:00 AM
Special Meeting of EPC to release the draft 2008 Operating Budget. No delegations. The document will be available to the public at this time.
Week of March 10th to 14th
The Standing Policy Committees of Protection and Community Services, Property and Development and Public Works meet to review the budget.
Meeting details to be determined. You can contact City Clerks at 986-2171 for info/registration.
Monday, March 17th, 9:00 AM
Special Meeting of EPC to hear delegations on the budget. This is the most significant opportunity to participate in the budget process!!!
You can contact Jo-Ann Park at
jpark@winnipeg.ca or 986- 3732 to register.Thursday, March 20, 9:00 AM
Special Meeting of EPC to table the final Budget recommendations to Council.
No delegations heard.
Wednesday, March 26th, 9:30 AM
It is expected that this will be the time and date of the Council meeting to approve the budget.
Council rules allow two speakers for and two speakers against at maximum. Rules can be waived to allow more speakers if 2/3 of council agrees by vote.
Contact 986-2171 for further info.
Let's talk taxes
Public meetings aim to educate public about the risks in getting rid of Winnipeg's business tax
Marlo Campbell, Uptown Magazine
Talking about taxes may seem boring, but knowledge is power, and for that reason, a series of public meetings are being held to educate citizens about the potential consequences of eliminating Winnipeg's business tax.
Co-hosted by the Winnipeg Labour Council and the Canadian Labour Congress, the meetings come as City Hall gets set to roll out the 2008 operating budget - a process that, this year, will include deciding whether or not to implement any of the recommendations set out by the Economic Opportunity Commission (EOC).
The eight-member group was struck by the Mayor in December 2007 and tasked with figuring out how to offset revenue that will be lost if Council eliminates Winnipeg's business tax. Right now, the tax brings in over $56 million per year, or approximately eight per cent of the city's entire operating budget.
Larry Pelzer, Winnipeg Labour Council president, says the goal of the meetings is to raise public awareness about the EOC's final report (released this past June) and the ramifications of its suggestions, which include contracting out city services such as park maintenance to private companies, using volunteer labour in certain city-operated venues, holding the line on civic salaries and wages, selling naming rights to civic buildings, negotiating more money from the Province (for example, a set share of the PST), and charging fees for services such as snow dumping.
The EOC concluded the business tax can be phased out over six years with no ill effects, but Pelzer's not convinced the city can afford to cut the tax without cutting back on services, raising property taxes or charging user fees - a concern shared by city councillor Jenny Gerbasi (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry).
"This is my 10th year on council; this is my 10th budget, and I fail to see how this can happen," Gerbasi says, who says the city simply can't afford to lose the revenue.
"They say we can't afford rapid transit, we can't afford more buses, more frequency of buses, we can't afford a recreation centre in the poorest neighborhood in the city - and they think we should give a massive cut?"
Opponents of the business tax call it a "job-killer" and claim it hurts Winnipeg's competitiveness, stifles growth, and unfairly penalizes businesses, which already pay property taxes, but Gerbasi disagrees.
"When you compare us to other cities, it's actually a very good place to do business," she says. "We have the work force, we have affordable housing, we have a stable community; there's many reasons."
Eight public meetings have been planned. Each will feature two presenters and time for questions from the audience. Copies of the EOC report will be on hand, and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives will also be providing a newly created citizens' guide to understanding Winnipeg's municipal budget process. The phone numbers and e-mail addresses of all city councillors will also be provided.
It remains to be seen if the meetings will have any effect on Council's ultimate decision with respect to the business tax, but Christopher Leo, a professor of politics at U of W and one of 10 presenters, says it's still worthwhile to engage Winnipeggers on the issue.
"Mayor Katz is a very shrewd politician. He's very good at getting City Council to go along with him," he says.
"My motive (for participating) is to try to just start educating as much as the public as possible, to see whether we can't begin to build up the political support for some more imaginative governance then we've had lately."
Meeting dates and times are as follows:
Monday, Feb. 25, 7 - 9 p.m., Silver Heights Community Centre, 2080 Ness Ave.
Wednesday, Feb. 27, 7 - 9 p.m., Sinclair Park Community Centre, 490 Sinclair St.
Wednesday, Feb. 27, 7 - 9 p.m., River Osborne Community Centre, 101 Pembina Highway
Thursday, Feb. 28, 7 - 9 p.m., Northwood Community Centre, 1415 Burrows Ave.
Thursday, Feb. 28, 7 - 9 p.m., Orioles Community Centre, 448 Burnell St.
Saturday, March 1, 1 - 3 p.m., Oxford Heights Community Centre, 359 Dowling Ave. E.
Monday, March 3, 7 - 9 p.m., Winakwa Community Centre, 980 Winakwa Road.
For more information, call 942-0522
FIRST, THE ‘NOT SO GOOD’ NEWS...
Nick and I saw his oncologist yesterday (was it just yesterday...? seems like months ago!) and she told us that Nick’s cancer is in his bone marrow again. The upshot of that news is that, yes, he’ll have to have more chemotherapy, but because of the concern that the cancer will migrate elsewhere in his body and the fact that it came back so quickly, the doctor is sending him for a consult to Cancer Care at Health Sciences Centre to see if he is a good candidate for a bone marrow transplant. If so, following the chemotherapy, I assume he will have the transplant which will give him a better chance of a longer remission.
NOW, THE BETTER NEWS...
Emily has done all of her "pre-op" tests including blood tests, x-rays, etc. and has now gotten a date for her knee replacement surgery - Tuesday, February 26th. As far as we know, she will be in hospital about 5 - 7 days, but we really don’t know anything else for sure yet.
A number of people have offered rides (especially for Nick) to get to and from the Grace Hospital (where he’ll have chemotherapy) and to and from Concordia Hospital ( where Emily’s surgery will be). We are very thankful for the offers. If anyone else can offer rides please let us know by e-mail or phone. We’re trying to get as organized as possible ahead of time.
----------------
The Militarization of Canadian Life and Culture
The Winnipeg Free Press reported on February 6 that Premier Gary Doer has endorsed a "yellow ribbon" campaign in support of Canadian troops in Afghanistan. When questioned on the apparent contradiction with the position of the Federal NDP the Free Press quoted the Premier as saying "I don't worry about what people say in Ottawa." Whatever the Premier may worry about we certainly are concerned about what Canadians think and their opposition to the war in Afghanistan.
The province-wide campaign will collect signatures on yellow ribbons in malls and other public places and, what is most disturbing, will go into the schools as well. Schools should not be a place for propaganda in support of a war that most Canadians oppose and see Canadian involvement as due mainly to the pressure of the U.S. in response to the attacks of September 2001.* (see foot note)
What is also disturbing about the campaign is that it is launched with the same rhetoric that has characterized the debate about the Iraq War in the United States --"Don't question the war because you must support the troops and the sacrifices they are making". The fact is Canadians are questioning the war as never before and it is taking place as Parliament considers whether or not to extend Canadian involvement in Afghanistan beyond 2009.
Peace Alliance Winnipeg and I join with others who are opposed to this propaganda for war being introduced into the schools and a public campaign that is aimed at stifling the discussion that is taking place about the future of Canada's military presence in Afghanistan.
It’s interesting to note that Gary Doer endorsed this Yellow Ribbon Campaign after the NDP provincial convention, not before. It would have been interesting to watch the fireworks at the convention had he endorsed the campaign before the convention!
Here is a list of MLAs and their email addresses so that you may contact them to voice your opposition: http://www.gov.mb.ca/legislature/members/alphabetical.html
*July 2007 poll conducted by the Strategic Counsel for CTV and The Globe and Mail that showed 59% of Canadians oppose the war and 54% believed Canadian involvement was due to U.S. pressure (reported on the CTV web site).
Handful of homeless run up hefty city tab
Isn’t it ironic that Councillor Gord Steeves said that "our police and paramedic services are not set up to be a social service agency" and that "chronic offenders be involuntarily put into long-term, supervised care".
Approximately five years ago, Doug Clark, then Executive Director of the Downtown BIZ Group suggested that those who had drug and alcohol problems be picked up and taken to the Main Street Project. However, Clark cautioned that for those for whom the street was their "home", this would only serve as a temporary measure until they were back out again.
At that time I questioned whether the Main Street Project was adequate in dealing with these individuals and where were you going to put these "repeat offenders"? We now know that it doesn’t work. It has cost the system about $250,000 in manpower and equipment over one year. In my experience, most addicts (although, not all) are a danger to themselves and others and should be put into involuntary, supervised, long-term care.
WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Saturday, February 2nd, 2008
38 street people costing millions Responsible for 1,066 emergency calls; Police initiative seeks to get them needed help
by James Turner
Winnipeg's emergency crews are spending millions of dollars in manpower a year trying to get help for 38 chronic street people.
The same 38 familiar faces were responsible for 1,066 calls for emergency services between Jan. 15, 2006 to May 15, 2007, according to police data presented Friday. One person alone used as much as $250,000 worth of emergency services.
Here's how it usually happens: one of the 38 regulars is intoxicated and sprawled outdoors, perhaps in the Main Street area, and someone calls police or an ambulance, which is then obliged to transport the person to hospital or a shelter.
The burden of the 38 people to the emergency system was outlined to the city's protection and community services committee during a presentation on Project Breakaway, a Winnipeg Police Service initiative that tries to get people living with addictions and mental-health issues off the street and into treatment centres.
Fifty-year-old Gerald McKay considers himself one of them -- on the street, he's known as 'Catfish' because of the way hairs protrude from his chin.
McKay, who said he's been sober for a month now, said he's "well-known" to police and ambulance drivers who, up until recently, frequently transported him to detox at the Main Street Project.
Last summer, during one of his final drinking binges, which lasted more than a month, there wasn't a single day he didn't see the inside of an ambulance or a cop cruiser, McKay said.
He also described himself as "one of the regulars" at the Health Science Centre, where he'd be taken when he was too drunk to walk, which was often.
"The emergency doctors got to know me well," he said.
Const. Jen Zeglen, who joined Project Breakaway as a liaison officer in 2006, said one repeat client was taken to hospital 186 times in a year at a cost of $119,000 to the police service.
This figure does not include $45,000 for ambulance transfers, nor the estimated two months a year these people spend in care and off the streets.
Coun. Gord Steeves, chairman of the committee, looked flabbergasted as he heard the numbers for the first time.
People who are stressing the system should be in long-term care, Steeves said in an interview.
"As a society we have an obligation to get out there and make sure (these people) are forced into care," Steeves said.
"It's always been our strong suspicion this type of circumstance is costing our police service a lot of time... and the taxpayers a lot of money.
"There has to be a better way to do this," Steeves said.
"Our police service and our paramedic service are not set up to be a social service agency."
Project Breakaway was launched by police in 2004 and involves two different approaches to dealing with people living on the street.
On the one hand, Zeglen and another officer work alongside a city social worker and as many as 10 social service agencies like the Salvation Army, the Main Street Project and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.
Their goal is to try and get the estimated 300 people they are in touch with the assistance they need.
"Sometimes a client doesn't want what we have to offer -- it has to be voluntary," Zeglen said in a telephone interview Friday.
On the other hand, the clients the officers identify as having problems with violence or aggression are brought into the justice system and work with a community prosecutor who puts conditions on their release.
"Sometimes you have to go the justice route and at that point we would maybe release them with conditions that they have to go to a treatment centre," the 34-year-old Zeglen said.
Many of those picked up by Project Breakaway are done so under the Intoxicated Persons Detention Act (IPDA) and are detained at the Main Street Project on Martha Street.
The shelter provides a safe and secure environment for people held under the IPDA for up to 24 hours, or until they're assessed as safe to be released back on the streets. The Project Breakaway numbers show many will be quick to return.
Mike Spence, the shift co-ordinator at the Main Street Project, spends 50 to 60 hours of his week working with people like Catfish -- people Project Breakaway is also in contact with.
Spence agreed the ambulance and police services were tied up by people out on the street, but couldn't point to a missing link in the system that may ease the burden on the city' emergency services.
"It could be different for every single person," he said.
Spence said the biggest problems facing people who use the shelter's services are drug and alcohol addictions, coupled with mental-health issues.
Spence said police have been doing their best in their unofficial role as social workers.
"I think police have been trying their hardest to realize these people have problems and jail isn't always the best solution," he said.
Brian Bechtel, the shelter's executive director, said in order to deal with the problems of the many people touched by Project Breakaway, there needs to be stability in their lives first, and that comes by having proper housing.
"We have a hard time finding the resources to put into housing and social programs, but we end up paying with the justice system," Bechtel said. Find the proper housing for people, and in time, Bechtel said, there will be less need for Winnipeg's emergency services to act as social workers.
-----------------------------------------
Dear James,
Re: your column of February 2/08 - "38 street people costing millions"
Isn’t it interesting that Councillor Gord Steeves said that "our police and paramedic services are not set up to be a social service agency" and that "chronic offenders be involuntarily put into long-term, supervised care".
Approximately five years ago, Doug Clark, then Executive Director of the Downtown BIZ Group suggested that there be the establishment of "special constables" who could detain drunks and drug addicts while they were patrolling the streets of the downtown. The fact was, that the majority of these people, although not all, were of aboriginal decent and had both drug and alcohol problems. But as Doug Clark at that time indicated, one had to be realistic about the capability of this approach to truly intervene and turn people’s lives around. There was a safety issue that could be addressed by picking these individuals up and taking them to the Main Street Project. At that time, Clark said that this service could assist police, fire and paramedic services who were spending an "inordinate" amount of time dealing with this issue. However, Clark cautioned that for those for whom the street was their "home", this would only serve as a temporary measure until they were back out again.
I questioned whether the Main Street Project was adequate in dealing with these individuals and where were you going to put these "repeat offenders"? We now know that it doesn’t work. It has cost the system about $250,000 in manpower and equipment over one year. So, even though I rarely agree with Councillor Steeves, I fully agree with his statement that addicts are not only a danger to themselves but to others, and should be put into involuntary, supervised, long-term care. What Councillor Steeves may not be aware of is that during Mayor Murray’s tenure, discussions occurred with Larry Wucherer from Neeginan and the City about establishing a 40 bed, long-term, supervised care facility for addicts at Neeginan with tri-level government funding of about $1.2 million to take pressure of the Main Street Project. What happened? Nothing! As Councillor Jenny Gerbasi said, there was no political will to do it. Well, now that we know the cost of providing emergency services to these individuals, there will hopeful be the political will to move forward on this issue.
CANSTAR WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS
THE METRO
Transit stinks, but what’s the alternative?
By Rachel Morgan
Jan. 31, 2008
It’s no wonder public transit is such a hard sell in this city. You’d have to be a polar bear to enjoy standing out on a street waiting for a bus during our average winter. Summer isn’t much better. There’s no air-conditioning in any of the city’s buses. Which means you have to get used to funky odours.
And if you don’t have the body of a 12-year-old, you’d have to be a masochist to be comfortable in those tiny seats. In an era when travelling by car is like being in your favourite easy chair, taking the bus isn’t exactly a sexy way to travel.
So it’s no surprise that city council can let our transit system languish. They know most Winnipeggers would rather get around by car. This is why there’s such a demand for more high-speed roads to funnel cars in and around the city. And hence the ease with which council can find money for a proposed water park or a new football stadium without any great public outcry.
In theory, there’s nothing wrong with building a water park or new football stadium. Both would be well used and a benefit to the city. But making them priorities over transit is shortsighted. That’s because this city is facing profound changes in the next decade that will push our current transit and road system to the breaking point.
First up, the new Manitoba Hydro headquarters will open downtown this year, drawing thousands of workers to the core. There is a proposal to build two office or apartment towers at Portage Place, which would bring thousands more downtown. The Bay downtown is looking for a way to redevelop its top two floors with a combination of living and work space. That would bring more people to the heart of the city. The Waverley West development will become home to tens of thousands of people who will need to travel somewhere else to work.
The Kapyong Barracks will likely become a mega residential and commercial development, boosting car and truck traffic.
If that isn’t enough, the city is scheduled to receive some 10,000 immigrants a year for the foreseeable future. If all of those people get into cars to travel round the city, there will be constant gridlock. If they don’t have cars, they will need a way to get around.
Ultimately, we will need a rapid-transit system from downtown to the Perimeter on three or four of our major routes. Instead of buses feeding from the suburbs to Portage and Main, they would travel around the city feeding into the rapid transit system.
Ideally, that system would be some form of light rail transit (LRT). Everything would be electric, for environmental and cost reasons. Seating would be designed for real adults to travel in comfort. And heated shelters would be built at reasonable intervals along the routes.
This kind of transit system can’t be built in a year or five years. It will take time and its cost will have to be spread out over decades. We can’t wait until the roads are impassable; we have to start now.
Rachel Morgan is the news editor at Canstar Community News. She can be reached at rachel.morgan@Canstarnews.com
Dear Rachel,
What can I say? Right on! Not only do we need some kind of LRT for cost and environmental reasons (as you point out), but for economic development reasons also. Just look at the amount of redevelopment that occurs around LRT stations in Calgary. This has had a significant impact in revitalizing Calgary's downtown and would have the same impact here in Winnipeg.
Unfortunately, as you might or might not be aware, not only are the majority of city councilors opposed to any kind of light rail transit due to cost, but for those who do support a rapid transit system (like Councilor Jenny Gerbasi) only support a Bus Rapid Transit system which will do nothing to do nothing to improve the transit system.
Sincerely,
Nick Ternette
------------------------------
Hi Nick,
Thanks for your note. I suspect it will take a major shift, such as gas prices hitting $5/litre, before Winnipeggers decide an LRT line makes economic sense. And I agree that it would revitalize downtown. On top of that, it would help this city's image. Being cold and quaint just doesn't cut it.
Rachel Morgan
News Editor
Canstar Community News
Herald, Lance, Metro, Times, Headliner
1465 St. James St.
Winnipeg, MB
R3H 0W9
Tel: 789-0822
Fax: 953-4305
rachel.morgan@canstarnews.com
www.canstarnews.com
Recently a poster was circulated stating Winnipeg Is Not For Sale. Defend libraries, recreation centres, pools and community centres. Defend good jobs and workers’ rights. Keep public spaces public."
Approximately 75, mostly young, enthusiastic activists turned up for a meeting to organize action against Mayor Sam Katz’s privatization of services. Individuals at this meeting represented groups such as ACT LEFT from U. of M., "Cop Watch", "Love And Rage" (a feminist collective), New Socialist Group, the Wobblies, and CUPE 500.
To be honest, the idea of "organizing action" was what attracted most of these young people to this meeting. A lot of the anarchist expressed the need to have a rally of thousands of people in front of City Hall to get the message to Mayor Katz that we don’t want privatization. Of course, the reality is that it is most unlikely that the middle class would come out in the middle of winter to any kind of demonstration, unless it affected them personally.
The fact is, that Mayor Katz and his neo-conservative EPC is well aware of this fact and will not introduce the mayor’s Economic Opportunities Commission (EOC) recommendations as a total package. They will, instead, pick and choose which parts will be acceptable to the middle class of Winnipeg. In fact, they might not privatize totally at once so that they appear not to be privatizing everything.
But the fact is, as CUPE 500 has stated, Mayor Katz and EPC is committed to further privatization of services (even if they try to bamboozle the citizens of Winnipeg) and continue to attack unionized workers (CUPE 500).
Unfortunately, what tends to happen at public meetings, many of these left wing groups had different agendas in coming together. Some were interested in learning about civic politics, some were interested in defending CUPE 500 in its struggle to defeat the mayor’s EOC, and others wanted a huge demonstration against Mayor Katz. It is difficult, when there are a number of agendas on the table, to mesh them together into one coherent plan. I don’t think that we succeed in this. I think what would have been more useful would have been to pick one of the three agendas identified and examine it in detail, come up with a strategy and then go on to the next agenda item.
As I see it, it might be useful to look at a short term strategy and a long term strategy. In terms of a short term strategy, we should support CUPE 500's campaign (which will end in March) to defeat the Mayor’s EOC. This would encompass helping them to distribute fliers for the six different neighbourhood meetings that they will be holding on this issue, to attend those meetings, to attend Standing Committee, EPC, and City Council regarding the Operating Budget and speak on this issue, and ultimately to hold as big a rally as possible at City Hall on the day City Council debates the Operating Budget and fill the Council chamber (400 people).
In the long run, it might be useful for the New Socialist group, which seemed to be the originators of this "Winnipeg Is Not For Sale" coalition, to get together with the Winnipeg Citizens’ Coalition to look at the possibilities of joining the two groups in order to start dealing with civic issues on a long-term basis, to prepare a slate of candidates for mayor and city council seats for the civic election in 2010. Everyone knows that unless a progressive slate can defeat the neo-conservatives currently on City Council, the differences between what is public and what is private will continue to be eroded. As well, the notion of a city being run like a business, first introduced by former Mayor Susan Thompson, will become an absolute reality!
On a bitter cold Wednesday evening, about 40 people gathered at our local Bookstore and Cafe in Wolseley to celebrate Nick's 63rd birthday. The wonderful staff at the Cafe had put some tables and chairs together, hung some balloons and played the music from Strike! The Musical, all the while accomodating our guests graciously and efficiently.
And, boy, did we ever have a variety of people in the group! Guests ranged from personal friends to Councillor Harvey Smith (our councillor here in Wolseley), former MP Cyril Keeper, former City Councillor Donald Benham and his wife Beverley to Manitoba Liberal leader Dr. Jon Gerard. Professors Brian Rice, Chris Leo, and Jim Silver - all from the University of Winnipeg - also attended. Community people were also there, including Jim Jawarski and Jeff Lowe (experts on urban transportation) and Jeff's wife Dorothy. Fred Curry and former social worker Don Brown and his wife came by as well as Liz Mitchell who is a member of an advocacy group called Disabled Women's Network. Also in attendance were labour activists Derek Black and his wife and Michael Welfley. Environmentalists Dave Nickarz and Dan Moroz popped by, and we were also pleased to see a group from Winnipeg Harvest where Nick works once a week.
The warm, casual atmosphere and easy conversation made the evening a great success. Nick was delighted!
I had the priviledge of lecturing in Professor Brian Rice's class at the University of Winnipeg on the subject "a life committed to activism". I was speaking to first year Department of Education students taking Social Studies with Professor Rice. Rather than centering on an academic analysis, Professor Rice felt that it would be better for me to speak about my life as an activist in a more informal manner. So, we discussed how I got involved in activism, what kinds of things I was involved in, how the role of an activist has changed over the years, how I saw the role of an activist today, and finally, how the students could get involved in activism.
I enjoyed doing the lecture immensely, but was disturbed by the lack of knowledge that the students had about local history - specifically, the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike! These individuals are going to be teaching our next generation, and to think that they knew nothing about something as socially significant as the General Strike was mind-boggling to me! I can understand not being too talkative at 8:30 in the morning or not knowing too much about my era - the '60s (for example, John Denver and the Mitchell Trio), but not knowing the history of their own city is unbelievable. I remember the time when the Department of Education removed Social Studies from the "core" curriculum and the furor that occurred as a result. If teachers don't know about their history (and don't teach it) how do you expect students to know it?
The General Strike still influences Winnipeg today. Just look at the CP Rail lines that MP Pat Martin is trying to have removed. These rail lines are a symbol of the division between the "haves" and the "have nots" in Winnipeg. Perhaps the Department of Education should consider mandating teaching about the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike from Elementary through to High School...!!??
Welcome to my first Blog of 2008. First, Emily and I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! All the best of good health and good times in 2008!
Inside City Hall
While the City Capital Budget didn’t cause much controversy except in the areas of Transit and Private/Public Partnerships (PPPs) the City Operating Budget will be far more controversial and disturbing to the citizens of Winnipeg. The Operating Budget which is in process at the present time will
incorporate many of the Mayor’s Economic Opportunity Commission (EOC) recommendations, in order to achieve an annual business tax reduction of approximately $55 million. The Mayor’s EOC suggests that $15 - $20 million revenue will be recouped by the City’s participation in PPPs and other partnerships with non-profit groups and the private sector.
Other so-called ‘savings’ that are set out in the EOC report is that $5 million of the $20 million in savings is to come from the PPPs selling pools and fitness centres, turning them over to volunteer associations, or contracting out services. Maybe the public should realize that contracting out ends up costing much more in the end. Just look at Handi-Transit which was contracted out and is now costing much more than when the City owned it completely. The question that needs to be asked is whether these services are going to be viewed in the future as public services provided equally to all citizens of Winnipeg or as businesses that exist to make a profit.
The EOC Report suggests that the City undertake a pilot project in offloading some City services to neighbourhood associations such as pools, play structures, park maintenance, street cleaning and a number of other services. The notion that neighbourhood associations volunteer to provide services that are paid for by the City is fine. I say this because each neighbourhood has unique needs and the specific neighbourhood associations would know best what their priority needs are. For example, sidewalk snow clearing in the inner city is a higher priority (more pedestrians), but not in suburbia because many of those areas don’t have sidewalks (fewer pedestrians. Not too surprisingly, the idea of using neighbourhood associations to provide services was one that was originally behind the creation of Unicity. That is, that policies would centralized by one city council representing the entire city, while services were to be de-centralized and service delivery would be done by neighbourhood associations in each area of the city. Of course, that didn’t happen due to "politics" and policies and delivery of services were centralized. But to suggest that these neighbourhood associations provide the service and pay for it as well, is nonsensical. But as Chris Leo has suggested, this has happened in some cities in the US where neighbourhoods supplying their own services have built a case for property tax cuts which, in its worst case scenario would wind up with a civic government with an eroding tax base struggling to maintain services in moderate to low income areas.
Other recommendations in the EOC Report, which will be part of the Operating Budget debate, suggest selling off or tendering out the management of the city’s golf courses. They have already done this, but selling them off is quite a different matter, eliminating the distinction between public and private, whereby everyone can play golf at a public golf course for a fee while you need to be a member at private golf courses. Another suggestion is off-loading the costs of various city services in commercial districts, including street and bus shelter cleaning, enforcement of panhandling and vagrancy by-laws on the members of Business Improvement Zones. This has some potential, but raises more questions than answers in terms of quality of service provision within each commercial district.
Finally, the Report suggests using volunteers instead of paid professionals in public libraries. Libraries already use volunteers and more would likely be useful, but to replace trained professional staff with volunteers is absurd!
In the long run, the implementation of the Mayor’s EOC recommendations will have a significant impact on the city unions, specifically CUPE 500 and its relationship with the City of Winnipeg. The suggestion that the selling of pools and fitness centres, offloading services to neighbourhood associations, the selling of golf courses, and offloading city services in commercial districts will have a significant impact on the membership of CUPE 500 in terms of retirements, lay-offs and a significant cut in the public service industry and the delivery of service to the citizens of Winnipeg.
If the unions are to survive at the civic level, it might be useful for CUPE 500 and other civic unions to significantly explore the Indianapolis Competitive Bidding Model in fundamentally transforming the whole relationship between public and private employer-employee relationships. With this model, the union could transform itself by realizing it has to empower its own members to understand the changing nature of unionism that is required in order to seize the workplace itself and reorganize the function of work itself.
An edited version of this article will appear in Uptown Magazine on January 10, 2008.
NICK IS TURNING 63!!!!
JOIN US FOR
"COFFEE AND DESSERT"
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23RD
NEIGHBOURHOOD BOOKSTORE AND CAFÉ
896 WESTMINISTER AVENUE
7:00 P.M. - 10:00 P.M.
R.S.V.P. by January 20th
Bravenet Blog 
Blog Community
Get a Free Blog
Manage your Blog
bravenet.com