Snow removal. Policing. Taxes.
During last fall’s municipal election, Red Deer voters and prospective council members poked and prodded at these three issues endlessly.
For the most part, the candidates preaching a tough new fiscal mindset were defeated — with the notable exceptions of longtime Councillor Tara Veer and newcomer Chris Stephan, both of whom have demonstrated more than just fiscal acumen.
But it is clear now that the remainder of the new council understands that those three issues are of vital importance to the voters of Red Deer.
On Friday, city council approved an operational budget of $263.166 million, which will result in an increase of 3.98 per cent in the city portion of Red Deerians’ municipal taxes. The budget they approved includes three more police officers (notably, RCMP Supt. Brian Simpson had submitted a no-growth budget request) and an additional $600,000 for snow removal.
A year ago, city council passed a budget that cost taxpayers 3.3 per cent more (with the school portion added, the final requisition was 2.6 per cent more than the previous year). That was the most modest increase in 10 years, and reflected the economic anxiety of taxpayers, administrators and politicians alike.
But it was accomplished in great part by dipping into municipal reserves — and that is not a bottomless well.
This year, the budget was drawn using much more traditional means: examining services and costs. And it was done with more apparent care at each turn. Perhaps in response to electioneering about the need to examine the budget in minute detail, city administration this year submitted budget requests that included service plan requirements and/or reductions, projected over the next three years.
Before the budget process began, Mayor Morris Flewwelling talked about the need for restraint. He said that, for the first time, council asked staff to look carefully at their base budget expenditures and revenues, and expect council to ask questions.
Carefully managing costs often means compromising services. Finding the balance is a political and social imperative.
This budget managed to keep a lid on costs without significantly compromising services. (It is important to note, however, that a number of user fees, including wastewater service and garbage and recycling pickup, will increase by significantly more than 3.98 per cent.)
By comparison, the Calgary city council’s recently-completed budget resulted in a 4.6 per cent property tax increase (and more snow removal, but little in the way of service cuts). And that budget was realized after some tough talk from the mayor about escalating costs.
Notably, Calgary intends to examine its core services in detail before the next budget is deliberated.
Certainly the tweaking that has taken place in Red Deer’s budget preparation process suggests a more thorough examination of how and why services are delivered.
The careful scrutiny — and pointed questioning — offered during Red Deer budget deliberations by Stephan helped to bring some issues into closer focus.
And it is apparent that administration doesn’t always make the most prudent of choices. The proposal to delay providing some services at the G.H. Dawe Recreation Centre would have sent a horrible message. Why would the taxpayers of south Red Deer deserve more service (at the Collicutt Centre) than those from the north who frequent the newly-renovated Dawe Centre?
In the fall, we argued that electing a council of fiscal hawks could compromise quality of life in Red Deer. Municipal services are critical to everyday life and their cost, relative to the services provided by other levels of government, is a bargain.
But that doesn’t mean that hard questions shouldn’t be asked.
To assume that the delivery of service is as efficient as possible, and that the services match all needs, would be foolish. The kind of review of the delivery of city services that Calgary is undertaking makes sense.
The previous council launched spring open houses to talk about the budget with the public, and another is planned for this spring. It is a step toward bridging the gap between expenditure and expectation.
The new council has demonstrated its willingness to listen to the public and tailor services to the public’s needs. A more thorough examination of those needs is in order — because there is more to quality of life in a vibrant city than snow removal, policing and taxes.
John Stewart is the Advocate’s managing editor.