Budget workshop

James Bay Neighbourhood Association

An on-going Beacon feature on land use & planning - to alert, inform, and prompt community action - and to celebrate success! 

Budget Discussion

In April 2012, Victoria City Council passed a motion to

a) move the City to a 3-year budgeting cycle,

b) freeze the property tax lift to a maximum of 3.25% per year for the next 3 years,

and c) solicit public input and response to the process before the 2013-15 budget is determined. 

The property tax freeze of 3.25% will require the City to cut a minimum $6 million in spending ($2 million per year) over 3 years.  Council and staff have gone through various exercises and determined that this limit will require permanent cuts to services.  Preliminary initiatives and priorities from these exercises are scored on 2 city documents titled "preliminary priorities".

Councilor Lisa Helps has initiated a series of Public Budget Workshops to solicit feedback from the community, prior to the official Council process scheduled to begin this fall.  Workshops have been held in James Bay and Vic West, with a final workshop scheduled for Fernwood on October 4^th.  Helps has a list of background reading on her website: www.lisahelpsvictoria.ca under 'upcoming events'.

The James Bay Neighbourhood Association (JBNA) hosted a Public Budget Workshop at the regularly scheduled September, 2012 meeting, with Councilor Helps guiding the process and Councilor Chris Coleman in attendance.  After a brief introduction and question period, meeting participants broke into groups for discussion.  Ideas and issues developed in the groups, priorized with the reassembled meeting, will be submitted by Helps to Council for consideration.

JBNA members realized they were somewhat disadvantaged without more specific budget information, but a range of strategic and operational areas were identified for examination.  

Comparisons of data from the published annual reports for 2011 from various cities in BC indicates that Victoria's cost per capita for employee salaries and benefits is much higher than other cities of a comparable size (in some cases, twice as high).  The review of management structure and compensation (both negotiated collective agreements and contracts) should be given a high priority.

The city's relationships with the GVHA, the CRD, and the province were all scrutinized.  Is Victoria's assistance for the CRD park system in surrounding communities comparable to downtown policing costs?  Why do our CRD partners have so much influence over the GVHA, while Victoria bears all of the costs?  Who benefits from public subsidies to the Tourism industry, the conference centre and the GVHA?  Given the pollution and intrusion created by tour buses and float-planes, the licensing fees should reflect the additional road maintenance and pollution costs created by these operations.

Other suggestions included: a toll on the Johnson Street bridge, a provincial advocacy strategy, incentives for attracting the film and movie industry, full costs of road closures to be charged for non-community events, flatten the city structure by reducing consultants and eliminating departments, and amalgamation.

Council should concentrate on the key functions of the city and its service to residents as they explore strategies to more effectively manage the City's finances.

Parks & Boulevards:

Fisherman's Wharf Park will have an official opening on Tuesday, October 2^nd from 11am to noon.  The site was transformed on September 6^th when 46,000 sq ft of sod was installed.  Other work is nearing completion.

In recognition of Tim Van Alstine's 20+ years of contribution to the community and his advocacy for redevelopment of the park, the JBNA board has requested that the city name for the new park wetland area be the Van Alstine Rain-Garden.

Environmental Issues:  

For the first days of August, after implementation of the Emissions Control Area (ECA), sulphur dioxide levels at Erie St were low.  Subsequently, levels have reached up to 50 ppb on several days.  As the monitoring site receives only the shoulder of the plume of emissions, residents east of Ogden Point could be expected to have endured significantly higher levels.  JBNA continues to advocate for more monitoring stations funded by the industry and GVHA.

Greater Victoria Harbour Authority (GVHA)

Reports indicate that cruise-industry passenger numbers world-wide are expected to double in the coming decades.  Increased cruise and other industrial activities at Ogden Point could create significant increases in emissions, noise and transportation within the James Bay community.  Further details will be presented at JBNA general meetings later this fall.

Aerodrome

Residents of James Bay are negatively impacted on a daily basis by current aircraft activities.  The JBNA continues to press the City for resolution of the situation, requesting that the city examine the aerodrome compatible land use conflict through arm's length studies and implementation of management control systems including:

• an independent safety report with a full aeronautical study,
• an independent air quality study focusing on volatile organic compounds (VOCs),
• the implementation of noise monitoring and noise control mitigation strategies.

Transport Canada, as airport operator and regulator, and the City of Victoria, as landlord and regulator, may be in conflict of interest regarding the aerodrome.  For this reason, it is vital to have other voices at the table during discussions.  Representatives of the JBNA have requested access to these discussions.

Board Appointment:

Miriam Nelson has resigned as JBNA Secretary, for personal reasons.  The Board has appointed Laura Neil as Secretary until the April 2013 AGM.

Join Us:

All residents of James Bay are welcome to participate at JBNA General Meetings held on the second Wednesday of each month.  The meetings are held from 7pm to 9pm at 234 Menzies St (New Horizons). 

The October 2^nd meeting will focus on two developments and a relook at Thrifty Foods open-hours:

~ Ralf Mundel of Thrifty Foods will be asking for feedback on the 24-hour store opening hours,

~ Architect Alan Lowe will present a proposal for a new duplex at 90-92 Dallas Road,

~ Lisa Lock, VP, Concert Properties, will discuss and answer questions about the conversion of the Queen Victoria, 655 Douglas, from a hotel to residential apartments - considerations include a variance for parking,

~ Time permitting, JBNA board members will review the cruise-ship experience of neighbourhood groups in Charleston, South Carolina, which are taking legal steps directed to limiting cruise-ship dominance of their community.