Spring nearly sprung, grass almost riz, we’ll soon find out what civic budget’s misdirection is

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/03/2024 (580 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

You could call it the civic budget bait and switch.

Start with the threat of a high-profile cut in city services, such as closing a pool or cutting back on hours at public libraries.

The bad news is typically delivered by the mayor or the head of the city’s finance committee, who assures citizens that times are tough, and that difficult decisions need to be made to reconcile the budget.

Then, they sit back and wait the tsunami of outrage.

Right on cue, parent groups, social-service agencies and special-interest lobbies howl for the cuts to be reversed. And then — when all seems lost — there suddenly appears a glimmer of hope that a solution can be found.

When the final budget is approved, the pools and libraries are miraculously saved. Citizens celebrate their victory over city hall, all with the knowledge that they will all be back playing the same game at the same time next year.

Sound too bizarre to be true? Look at this year’s civic budget debate and you’ll see the bait and switch playing out in real time.

Last month, the city unveiled its proposed 2024 operating budget with a plan to close Happyland, Windsor Park and Eldon Ross pools. The proposal was accompanied by a plan to invest $20 million in 10 new outdoor splash pads.

There was also a plan to extend hours at community libraries but close the downtown Millennium branch on Sundays.

As has been the case in budget debates past, the proposals have triggered a wave of protests and pleadings from people who have deep connections to the pools and the downtown library. And those pleadings have — not surprisingly, given the way these things tend to go — prompted some second thoughts at city hall.

Mayor Scott Gillingham said last week that while he wouldn’t make any promises to keep anything open, he was “still open to see what may be done…. We’re still in a place of discussion.”

No one can say with complete confidence that a reversal of fortune for these facilities will be forthcoming. But Gillingham has certainly opened the door to yet another example of council miraculously pulling an community’s pool from the jaws of disaster at the very last moment.

Why do we have to go through this dreary budget ritual in what seems like every year? Opinions and theories vary.

From a political point of view, drawing the citizenry’s attention to potential and controversial budget cuts does tend to direct it away from things such as tax hikes. And there is no getting around the fact that this year’s operating budget is a bit more aggressive on that front.

In addition to a 3.5 per cent property tax hike (with two points dedicated to infrastructure) the budget also proposes a five per cent increase in all other fees (minus frontage levies), a $1 a monthly 911 service fee (consistent with most other cities) and a one-point bump to the city’s accommodation tax charged on all hotel, motel and short-term room rentals.

Interestingly, while there has been lots of noise around the pool closures and trims to downtown library hours, there’s been nary a peep about the somewhat unprecedented number of tax and fee hikes. Are Winnipeggers buying Gillingham’s case for more revenue generation, or are they too concerned about the fate of their community pools to think about anything else?

A second potential theory is that the city is just trying to see just how far it can push cost-saving measures officials really want to do but which they know are incredibly unpopular.

Notwithstanding the importance that the Windsor Park and Happyland outdoor pools and Eldon Ross indoor facility have to the communities in which they’re located — and they are critically important — there’s a strong financial rationale for closing the aging facilities and opening splash pads.

Pools — especially Eldon Ross which operates year-round — are expensive to operate and maintain and the three facilities slated for closure need millions of dollars in repairs in the near future; splash pads operate during summer months only and do not require lifeguards.

The logic for the changes to library hours is a lot harder to find.

Millennium is still trying to recover from being the scene of a tragic 2022 stabbing death. Since then, the city has struggled to introduce workable security measures that keep people safer but don’t discourage people from using the flagship branch. Those efforts have not worked, as total attendance is way down.

However, as it struggles to rebuild its attendance, closing Millennium one day a week is an inherently wrong-headed solution. The money saved from not operating it Sunday is not worth the impact it would have on people who truly need the facility seven days a week.

Will this year’s budget become the latest episode in a long-running municipal budget bait and switch? Nobody can or should make any promises about the reversal of any particular budget measure.

However, when looking at how things have progressed since the budget was tabled in February, it certainly seems the bait has already been dangled. And the switch is currently lurking in the shadows of the council chamber.

dan.lett@winnipegfreepress.com