Mayor, councillors vote overwhelmingly for city’s multi-year operating, capital budgets

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This article was published 20/03/2024 (568 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The City of Winnipeg’s 2024-2027 budget was approved by nearly all city council members in a final vote Wednesday amid some complaints it didn’t raise taxes high enough.

Council cast a 14-1 vote in favour of the operating budget and a 13-2 vote in favour of its capital budget.

Mayor Scott Gillingham credited the result to extensive collaboration among council members.

“Coun. (Jeff) Browaty has worked very hard as the chair of finance… to try to hear from, work with every councillor. I acknowledge that, inevitably, a city budget… by the time we get to a vote, every city councillor has compromised,” said Gillingham.

“I credit Coun. Browaty and the efforts of our colleagues to work together and try to find common ground.”

Despite strong support, there were some demands for change.

Coun. Russ Wyatt (Transcona) voted against both budgets, accusing elected officials of perpetuating a decades-long trend of “self-imposed austerity.” Wyatt said the city has a long-standing tradition of either freezing taxes or raising them by too small an amount to properly fund city services and infrastructure.

“Keeping taxes low… (has undermined) our inherent ability to deliver the services we’re responsible to deliver,” said Wyatt.

The current $1.4-billion tax-supported operating budget includes a 3.5 per cent property tax hike in each of the next four years.

“Maybe we need to have the courage to go to the citizens of Winnipeg and say, ‘I know I promised this, in terms of a tax increase, but now we have to (raise it higher),” said Wyatt, who did not say how much of a tax hike would be appropriate.

Gillingham said inflation has already made it difficult for Winnipeggers to balance their own budgets, which a higher tax increase would make worse.

Despite supporting the overall budget, Coun. Cindy Gilroy argued councillors who don’t sit on executive policy committee or the budget working group lack information on the fiscal blueprint, making the process unfair.

“It’s (different for) those that are in the room and those that are not in the room,” said Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre).

She also suggested the city raise business tax rates for the largest companies, while keeping them frozen for smaller ones. The budget freezes that tax at 4.84 per cent.

Gilroy said many smaller inner-city businesses need more help since they are already “struggling to stay open” due to theft and violence.

The vote followed a few final requests.

Pride Winnipeg called for the city to provide annual funding to support its efforts, estimating Pride events created $2 million in economic benefits for the downtown in 2022.

“We understand the budget is tight… (But) we’re asking for our share of the pie,” Barry Karlenzig, the organization’s president, told reporters.

Karlenzig suggested the city cover half of the roughly $35,000 in city services required to support the event this year.

During the meeting, Couns. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry), Gilroy and Vivian Santos (Point Douglas) promised to cover all city costs for this year’s Pride parade, using ward funding.

“It’s… important to give some relief to a festival that draws in the crowds, draws in the money and makes such a significant investment… in the downtown,” said Rollins.

Councillors also heard a final plea to keep Happyland outdoor pool open, or at least cover its operating costs for one more year.

“Give us a chance to raise money…. We’re willing to do it, if that’s what it takes to save Happyland,” said Sandra Dupuis, a member of the South St. Boniface Residents’ Association.

Former premier and past St. Boniface MLA Greg Selinger also attended the meeting, telling media he opposed the pool closure.

He declined an interview request.

Browaty said he remains convinced that closing the pool makes sense.

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“The condition of the old infrastructure isn’t going to get better in 12 months time or 24 months time,” he said. “I really do believe… the best solution for St. Boniface aquatics, overall, is a brand-new facility of some sort.”

The preliminary budget also called for the Windsor Park outdoor and Eldon Ross indoor pools to close this year. However, an amendment council finalized Wednesday will see Windsor Park remain open through 2025 and Eldon Ross operate through this summer. The city then plans to sell Eldon Ross with a requirement that the facility maintains some public access.

In the final vote, Gillingham joined Couns. Markus Chambers, Evan Duncan, Gilroy, Jason Schreyer, Rollins, Ross Eadie, Browaty, Devi Sharma, Santos, Matt Allard, Shawn Dobson, Brian Mayes and Janice Lukes to vote in favour of the operating budget, while Wyatt opposed it. Wyatt and Schreyer both voted against the capital budget, while Coun. John Orlikow was absent from the meeting.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.