Battle of the Brians

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This article was published 31/12/2018 (2627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mayor Brian Bowman continues to pin his plans for a growing city on the notion that the Pallister government would provide city hall with a new funding arrangement.

When it comes to designing and building Transit, recreation and leisure centres, and even bridges, Bowman admits city hall has just about maxed out its borrowing capabilities, and his imposed cap on property tax increases has handcuffed council’s ability to repair the crumbling infrastructure.

In the annual year-end interview with the Free Press, Bowman offered no indications he has a plan to repair a crumbling city other than to keep “fixing the streets.”

Asked to look back at his first four years and how they would shape the next four, Bowman said city hall has only limited financial resources to deal with competing priorities.

“There is no limit to the amount of spending we could, and we would like, to do, but we have limits on taxpayers’ ability to pay and our requirement under provincial legislation to balance the budget,” Bowman said. “The reality is we’re not able to move forward with all those (infrastructure) projects in the near term. And moving forward on any of them is going to be very difficult as well.”

The question-and-answer format has been edited for length.

Winnipeg Free Press: Looking back at your first four years, is there anything that you would have done differently?

Brian Bowman: I did the best I could coming in as a new mayor and someone new to politics. I worked as hard as I could and did the best that I could with what I knew then. I feel like I’ve learned a lot over the last four years about how to be more effective and hopefully, I’ll be more effective in the next four years. I think we got some good work done.

WFP: How have the past four years shaped how you will approach the next four?

BB: First, some things move very slowly in government and I of course, coming from the private sector, would like everything done yesterday. There’s definitely an urgency for me to be more effective on files that are important to me, starting with Transit. I do think we were able to get city hall and get a number of files on the right track in the last four years. I want to build upon those successes and those positive changes we made.

WFP: The Transit union leadership recently said the frustration level among Transit operators has reached the point where they said their members will support a strike when the collective agreement expires, but you’ve dismissed that as public bargaining by the union. It seems that the city has dragged its feet when it comes to bus shields. When an Edmonton bus driver was attacked in the fall, Edmonton Transit immediately took the decision to install shields on all its buses. Council has provided funding for the eastern Transit corridor study, and for the operational review but when it comes to safety, it seems you’ve handcuffed Transit. Are you committed to installing driver shields in 2019 and what other steps will be taken to improve Transit?

BB: I don’t agree the city has not acted on the safety concern of operators and passengers. I think there is more to do and I’m committed to doing just that. On the issue of shields, ultimately that will be a decision of council. Also, we’re waiting for a report to come back from the public service. I am expecting support for shields and I’d like to see shields but we’ll wait to get the report. But it’s one I think has a lot of merit and I’d like to see that and a lot of other improvements to safety.

WFP: What can riders and residents expect to see for Transit, in addition to shields, what other things can people expect to see?

BB: I do think 2019 is going to be a year in which Transit and needed changes to Transit are going to be discussed in a more fulsome way that hasn’t been debated in a generation. The service that we all use right now is one that our grandparents used. The routes really haven’t changed. I think the Transit management has done the best they could with the resources they’ve been given, but it’s time for council to provide greater leadership on improvements to the Transit system.

The direction that was provided to the public service is essentially this: Imagine that you are starting from scratch, you have a city with over 750,000 people, if you were to design the system from scratch with the resources we have now, where would the routes be, what would it look like to be more effective, to be safer and more reliable for Transit riders? That’s the starting place for this review.

WFP: You talk about Transit doing the best it could with the resources that is has. Functional Transit Winnipeg has said several times that cities like Edmonton and Ottawa have more buses per capita and the financial support for Transit from their councils is greater. Can city hall provide the additional financial help?

BB: There’s no doubt in my mind we are going to have to make additional investments in Transit. The challenge we have is we have a different funding model now with the provincial government. We don’t have the benefit of the 50-50 cost-sharing arrangement and that is only going to make the challenge we have before us even greater.

WFP: The province is considering privatizing its air ambulance service, Lifeflight, and the water bombers used to fight forest fires — is that something you would consider for Transit for additional Transit corridors, turn to a private-sector partner to run the Transit corridor system?

BB: That isn’t something I’m considering right now. But, honestly right now, we have to be open to different ideas.

WFP: Most observers would agree that the city has successfully developed and is implementing a local and regional street renewal program. Will you take the same approach in dealing with recreational and leisure facilities or other projects?

BB: Great question. So, the headline would be ‘We’ve fixed all the roads’ then?

WFP: Roads always need repair.

BB: You’re right, in terms of community centres and recreational facilities, we have a significant infrastructure deficit we’ve inherited and additional investments are required.

WFP: The city is growing: You’ve got the southwest corner: Waverley West, Bridgwater. There’s development taking place in the northwest corner as well. People are buying houses, moving into apartments. They’re going to want services, not just roads; they’re going to want things for their kids. How does the city meet that obligation?

BB: You’re right. Part of the way in which we meet it for new areas of the city is through the use of the impact fees. That’s a way in which we can ensure the existing revenues which we have, which are being collected from all existing taxpayers, can be better directed at our existing infrastructure and our existing community centres, while generating revenues from impact fees that can help benefit the newer communities and to support that growth

WFP: In terms of other infrastructure projects that are pending, the two that stood out to me are Kenaston Boulevard widening and the Arlington Bridge. The study on the Kenaston widening is almost complete, the study on the Arlington Bridge has been completed. You could defer Kenaston widening but the Arlington Bridge is going to fall down. It’s at the point where it’s being closed on a monthly basis for repairs. Is there a plan for the coming year, have you considered what to do with the Arlington Bridge?

BB: The short answer is council hasn’t prioritized the next major infrastructure project. There are a number of competing priorities. The ability of council to move forward with any of them is increasingly difficult with the revenue challenges we have as a city. That’s why a new funding model for municipalities has never been more important. That’s increasingly going to be part of the private and public dialogue that we’re having with the province: If we’re going to be building the economic engine of this province, which is the City of Winnipeg, we need to have the revenue models that support a growing city, and we simply don’t have that right now.

WFP: Residents look to the mayor for leadership. I know you say council has to make the decision, but If the bridge falls down on your watch, that’s going to be something you’ll be stuck with forever. Do you have a plan? What do you think is the most important infrastructure project to deal with, if not a new Arlington Bridge?

BB: The one thing I will say is, one of my responsibilities as mayor is ensuring that we’re balancing our books and managing tax dollars as wisely as possible. There is no limit to the amount of spending we could and we would like to do, but we have limits on taxpayers’ ability to pay. The reality is we’re not able to move forward with all those projects in the near term. And moving forward on any of them is going to be very difficult.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca