Common council is now in the process of deliberating budget cuts. (Danielle McCreadie)
A handful of parks and recreation programs were the first to go under the knife as part of the city’s budget cut deliberations.
City staff will now explore cutting Passport to Parks, the Sea Side Park Lawn Bowling Club, the summer Playground Program, and the outdoor ice rink at Rainbow Park.
“This is the first series of these individual initiatives that we are going to present to (council) for comment and for decision for whether they go into the sustainability hopper, or whether they are so unpalatable that (council) wish(es) them to no longer be considered,” explained City Manager John Collin.
The proposed cuts from those services add up to $145,000 in savings, which is still a far cry from the $12 million the city needs to balance its budget.
City staff say there are around 50 sustainability initiatives for council to explore in the coming months that touch on all areas of service.
Once approved to be explored, the initiatives will come back to council as part of a larger service cuts report some time in the spring.
Collin says if larger cost-saving initiatives are successful, smaller cuts likely won’t be made.
“Until we have the success on the larger initiates, we need to have, under the model of swallow the elephant one bite at a time, a whole bunch of these small ones ready to go,” he said.
Councillor Donna Reardon voted against the cuts at Rainbow Park.
She says the city should invest in its priority neighbourhoods, not reduce its resources.
“When you reduce funds for socio-economic groups, the impact is huge because there is no other options usually for that crew. I don’t think it’s a good message for the city to be sending that we’re focusing cuts on the area. it’s counter-intuitive,” she said.
Councillor Ray Strowbridge says it’s time council got used to making difficult budget decisions, especially with a looming structural deficit.
“Don’t want to see it removed from anyone’s neighbourhood, it’s nice to have a skating rink in your own backyard, but that’s a want, its not a need, and if council right now is struggling with something as small as that, we don’t have a hope in hell when it gets to the big stuff,” he said.
The city will also explore cost recovery options for the fire department through the creation of a bylaw.
One item—the city-funded lifeguards at Fisher Lakes—was spared during Monday night’s meeting, after council decided it was a matter of safety to not have them on hand.
There are caveats on all the proposed cuts: if a private sponsor comes forward to fund the service’s annual costs, it will be able to continue.
