Snow solutions lacking

Posted: 1:00 AM CST Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014

I want to thank CUPE 500 president Mike Davidson for his letter City's deficit blame game (Feb. 21) for pointing out the obvious: When the snow budget of 2013 goes over budget by as much as $15 million due to the volume of snow we received last fall and this winter, it ensures an operating deficit by our year end.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/02/2014 (4538 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I want to thank CUPE 500 president Mike Davidson for his letter City’s deficit blame game (Feb. 21) for pointing out the obvious: When the snow budget of 2013 goes over budget by as much as $15 million due to the volume of snow we received last fall and this winter, it ensures an operating deficit by our year end.

What Davidson did not point out in his letter, however, was that any time council looked for options to save money, such as in the area of golf services (which costs the city more than $1 million a year in subsidies), Davidson and his labour allies, both on and off council, cried foul and protested greatly.

It’s unfortunate that whenever the city tries to find efficiencies, Davidson does everything in his power to stop such initiatives; furthermore, he never provides genuine solutions to find long-term operational savings. Rather, he is clearly very good at protecting his membership and defending the status quo.