The following open email was sent on September 21 to all candidates running for a seat on Winnipeg's City Council:
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Dear Candidate,
Although the City of Winnipeg has not released a detailed breakdown as to what comprises its ‘infrastructure deficit,’ it is abundantly clear that a number of our city’s roads, bridges and other infrastructure assets require repair.
Claims by the City that it ‘has no money’ to fix the problem have led many to simply call for a property tax increase. However, it should be pointed out that there is only one taxpayer and the average Manitoba family already provides over 40% of their income to the government in one form or another (GST, PST, income taxes, fuel taxes, property taxes, school taxes, etc.) Many taxpayers are simply taxed out!
Further, hiking property taxes assumes City Hall is using the funds it currently receives efficiently. Although there has been some progress in how our tax dollars have been spent over the past few years, there is still plenty of room for improvement.
I encourage you to review the items below:
Room for Improvement
| Amount/Estimate | Explanation |
| $1,000,000 | The city has been sitting on prime riverfront land in West St. Paul for years. |
| $300 | Grant for a “Youth Activist Retreat” – discussions include “feminism, anti-racism, environmental justice, food politics and a tour of 91 Albert, workers' rights, queer politics, de-colonization, direct action, health and sexuality...” Politicization of youth is not a municipal responsibility. |
| $?,000,000 | The city is using some of the most valuable commercial land in Winnipeg as a snow dumping site (see Kenaston Ave, north of McGillivray). Think of the annual property tax revenue that could be raised if this were developed. |
| $33,505,000 | Salaries and benefits have been skyrocketing, a one year freeze would yield substantial savings annually. |
| $739 | Councillor expensed a satellite radio and subscription – apparently Howard Stern now covers public policy. |
| ??? | Libraries buying Terminator 2, Legally Blonde, Eminem and other Hollywood titles. Is this really the role of a City government? |
| $68,000 | Councillors’ mileage – at the rate some elected officials expense mileage, you’d think their wards were in Brandon. Greater transparency and accountability could reduce this budget by at least 10%. |
| $2,000,000 | Annual cost for allowing Firefighters to store up unused sick leave and get paid out for a portion – liability stands at $27M– and counting! |
| $10,000,000 | City of Winnipeg public pools lose run $10M deficits annually while YMCA pools all break even. Not surprisingly, many city salaries at the facilities are double what YMCA employees earn. |
| $3,630 | Public works crews resurface a street one week, Water & Waste Dept rips it up the next week for sewer work. |
| $41,043 | Not one, not two, but three “stimulus signs” placed at each stimulus project site around town. |
| $30,000 | City funds youth training program – nice idea, but it’s a provincial responsibility. |
| $940,711 | City managed golf courses lose almost $1M each year. |
| ~$500,000,000 | Instead of building a half billion dollar rapid transit corridor, improving traffic flow for all motorists, including buses, could be done without building new infrastructure. |
| $8,526 | Wasted on gigantic stimulus signs in Transcona (not counted in previous entry). |
| $371,000 | Audit report shows sick leave paid out without proper documentation (see #8) |
| $1,289,929 | Spent on consulting work for two companies, owned by the same individual. From the fleet management agency audit “The contracts with these two related companies were negotiated solely by the former COO of WFMA, who also approved all invoices and directed much of the work performed by the consultant. The nature of the work performed by these two companies is unclear....The contracts appear to be more for hours of service to be provided versus specific projects to be completed.” |
| $25,000,000 | When the City of Winnipeg contracted out garbage collection, its costs went down by 36% and complaints dropped by 20-25%. Over $165 million in city services could be contracted out to the private sector or non-profit sector. Assuming 15% savings, $25 million annually could be achieved. |
Is Canada Off Track?
Canada has problems. You see them at gas station. You see them at the grocery store. You see them on your taxes.
Is anyone listening to you to find out where you think Canada’s off track and what you think we could do to make things better?
You can tell us what you think by filling out the survey