It was an interesting and at times heated discussion at council on March 27th as we gathered to review the final recommendation from staff to move forward with a proposed 6.4% tax hike in New Westminster.
Over the past four months since I got elected, I have attended countless onboarding sessions and workshops on a variety of topics. Ostensibly, this was all to help me (and other newly elected officials) get up to speed regarding the various programs and services and capital investments we invest in at the city.
As you can imagine, there is a lot of information to absorb in a relatively short period of time as we all prepare to put up our hands in support of the 2023 operating budget. While I don’t profess to understanding every facet of the city, the briefing sessions have definitely helped to paint a better picture for me as to what we are – and are not – spending our limited tax dollars on at the city.
What is clear to me is that we don’t invest enough in our sidewalk installation and repair programs. We don’t place enough emphasis on keeping our kids active and ensuring they have as many opportunities to play, run around and simply burn off some excess energy! Did I mention we need significantly more investments in bus shelters?
Meanwhile, what we have prioritized is spending tens of millions of tax dollars in projects like BridgeNet, the Sapperton District Energy system, mushroom walls, and Great Streets.
While those projects no doubt have some merit – they clearly need to be rethought as we face a record 6.4% property tax increase. Something most taxpayers simply can’t afford – especially considering that staff indicate we could face up to 20% property tax increases in the next 4 years! This is on top of all the tax hikes imposed over the last decade which have all been well above the posted rate of inflation.
Finalizing Budget 2023
As a new councillor, I naively thought the budget process remained open to feedback from the public and elected officials right through to the final vote. I thought since we hadn’t finalized our budget, there was still plenty of time to make amendments to the budget and try to keep costs down.
But to my surprise, on March 27th when Councillor Paul Minhas and I introduced a series of amendments to the budget to get the debate started, we were roundly criticized.
Some of our colleagues referred to the motion as “slap dash” and “misleading” [the latter comment was eventually withdrawn with an apology issued after I raised a point of order]. In previous meetings similar motions I introduced were referred to by my colleagues as ‘knee-jerk’ and ‘willy nilly’.
Incredibly, my budget motion was even referred to as ‘crazy’. Which to be clear, is never a word that should be uttered in a city hall chamber with politicians that profess to care about people living with a mental illness. Using similar words like “nuts”, or “looney” or “insane” to describe the actions of your colleagues is simply unacceptable.
So with my budget motion on the table, a debate briefly ensued. Then the vote came in with all five Community First politicians opposed and Councillor Minhas and I voting in favour. You can read more about the budget exchange here in the Record newspaper.
Is it just me, or do you agree that the budget is not finalized…until it’s finalized? That means my motion was not only in order, it is something voters expect me to do. They elected me to present alternative ideas and to challenge conventional wisdom and thinking.
Voters want Councillor Minhas and I to bring forward new ideas, course correct when required and to reflect our community’s goals and objectives in our budget.
No doubt there will be those who say I should have introduced my budget amendments months ago. You know, when I was in the process of learning where all the budget expenditures actually went.
Perhaps…but I also think there is a strong argument to be made the best time to make significant cost reduction proposals is once all the budget information is finally presented to you – and a staff recommendation comes forward for debate. But Coun. Minhas and I are clearly in the minority on that one.
