EDMONTON - Frustration mounted Monday as city councillors repeatedly criticized their administration for chopping popular items from the budget rather than finding the money to pay for them.
Bit by bit, council members restored some of the $10.5-million worth of cuts imposed to help meet the goal they set last June of keeping next year’s property tax increase to 4.5 per cent.
“Surely you know that’s going to draw the wrath of the public,” Coun. Kerry Diotte said as he and his colleagues debated a proposal to save $500,000 by putting off replacement of burnt-out street light bulbs for up to five years.
“Is there nothing else in your budget you can cut?”
Two other councillors called the move “ridiculous.” They eventually decided to kick in $180,000 for the program, or about two-thirds of the revised estimate of what’s needed, from money saved by converting to LED lights.
There were similar concerns raised during debates about plowing park trails ($200,000 reinstated), flower and shrub replacement ($504,000 reinstated) and spring litter pickup beside highways and arterial roads ($300,000 reinstated).
“It’s a small amount (for litter). You have to find it in your own budget,” Coun. Tony Caterina told transportation general manager Bob Boutilier, who agreed to transfer the money from somewhere else in his department.
Coun. Karen Leibovici was particularly upset at the cut proposed to winter trail cleaning, which would have affected lower-use paths in the park system.
“This is an item every year we put in … To take it out I think is an affront to council’s wishes. I don’t see why this would be on the chopping block.”
Councillors must still deal with about 65 amendments to increase or lower spending before voting on the final budget, which is scheduled to happen by Wednesday.
If everything is approved as now proposed, the 2012 tax increase would be about six per cent.
Mayor Stephen Mandel said his colleagues will keep working on the budget this afternoon.
“I think everybody’s frustrated about (the cuts), but we asked them to meet a goal, and they met a goal, so I think they’re frustrated too.”
Bit by bit, council members restored some of the $10.5-million worth of cuts imposed to help meet the goal they set last June of keeping next year’s property tax increase to 4.5 per cent.
“Surely you know that’s going to draw the wrath of the public,” Coun. Kerry Diotte said as he and his colleagues debated a proposal to save $500,000 by putting off replacement of burnt-out street light bulbs for up to five years.
“Is there nothing else in your budget you can cut?”
Two other councillors called the move “ridiculous.” They eventually decided to kick in $180,000 for the program, or about two-thirds of the revised estimate of what’s needed, from money saved by converting to LED lights.
There were similar concerns raised during debates about plowing park trails ($200,000 reinstated), flower and shrub replacement ($504,000 reinstated) and spring litter pickup beside highways and arterial roads ($300,000 reinstated).
“It’s a small amount (for litter). You have to find it in your own budget,” Coun. Tony Caterina told transportation general manager Bob Boutilier, who agreed to transfer the money from somewhere else in his department.
Coun. Karen Leibovici was particularly upset at the cut proposed to winter trail cleaning, which would have affected lower-use paths in the park system.
“This is an item every year we put in … To take it out I think is an affront to council’s wishes. I don’t see why this would be on the chopping block.”
Councillors must still deal with about 65 amendments to increase or lower spending before voting on the final budget, which is scheduled to happen by Wednesday.
If everything is approved as now proposed, the 2012 tax increase would be about six per cent.
Mayor Stephen Mandel said his colleagues will keep working on the budget this afternoon.
“I think everybody’s frustrated about (the cuts), but we asked them to meet a goal, and they met a goal, so I think they’re frustrated too.”
No comments:
Post a Comment