Vancouver council mulls four options for trimming 2020 budget
Credit to Author: Dan Fumano| Date: Thu, 12 Dec 2019 02:11:01 +0000
Vancouver council is playing a game of choose-your-own-budget, weighing four options for how and where to trim next year’s financial plan.
Responding to a wave of public criticism about a proposed 8.2 per cent property tax hike to fund the $1.6 billion operating budget for 2020, council directed staff Tuesday to provide options for how to limit tax increases to five, six or seven per cent.
City staff spent Tuesday night “burning the midnight oil,” city manager Sadhu Johnston said, and they reported back Wednesday with different budget “scenarios” so council can decide what they think is too big, too small, or just right.
Patrice Impey, the city’s chief financial officer, presented four budget scenarios to council, reminding them it’s considered a best practice to approve the budget before the end of the year.
“It is a difficult job that you have,” Impey told council, “and we recognize that.”
All of the reduced budget scenarios presented Wednesday reduce or delay additional staff for Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, Chief Darrell Reid told council.
“The decision is yours, of course. And I respect that,” Reid said. “I also respect the expectations of the people that we all serve. But as fire chief, I can’t in good faith, knowing what I know, recommend delays or reductions in staffing.”
Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer, meanwhile, said his department could “work through” the two scenarios presented to council, but the other two would be “problematic.”
Demands for service on police have been increasing, along with violent crime, property crime, disorder calls, and Vancouver’s population, said Palmer, who, along with Deputy Chief Steve Rai, through several hours of council meetings this week and last for this year’s budget. “We are standing here in December 2019 and we actually have three fewer police officers working than we did 10 years ago.”
Council is set to meet Tuesday, Dec. 17 for debate and decision on the budget.
Here are selected highlights of the different budget scenarios staff presented Wednesday:
Seven per cent scenario:
The first proposal would bring a $9-million reduction of tax-funded services, with savings coming from:
• delaying seismic upgrades for Firehall #12.
• increasing parking revenue.
• eliminating the innovation fund.
• removing funding for Oppenheimer Park.
• reductions in city-wide planning process, delaying some tasks from 2020 to 2021 and 2022.
• delaying planned hiring for Vancouver Fire, including mental health resources.
• delaying in Vancouver Police Department’s plan to hire 25 additional officers and 10 civilian staff.
• reducing funding for street cleaning.
Six per cent scenarios:
Staff presented two different scenarios to attain a six per cent property tax increase, each of which would mean a $17 million service reduction from the original proposed budget. The first would decrease funding for “council priorities” including work related to poverty reduction, diversity and equity, while the second would decrease funding for “service gaps and risk” including police.
Both six per cent scenarios would include cuts outlined above, as well as:
• eliminating funding for additional street cleaning.
• reducing special events funding.
• removing most actions in “social and diversity priorities,” with reduced funding for remaining programs.
• reducing library branch hours.
• reducing the storm and snow reserve.
• limiting police hiring to 13 additional officers and five civilian staffers, instead of 25 and 10, as planned.
Five per cent scenario:
The scenario with the deepest level of cuts from the proposed budget would mean a reduction of $25 million in tax-funded services, including all the above-mentioned cuts, as well as:
• reducing funding for climate change preparation and cultural programming.
• delaying hiring or reducing staffing.
• a “substantial” reduction to city-wide plan, including decreasing grants for engagement with First Nations partners.
• “problematic” delays in addressing engineering risks.