The first day of 2025 Budget deliberations at city hall on Thursday saw a pair of high-priced programs supported by council – but only after finding ways to keep the cost off property tax bills.
Park maintenance
Staring down a 7.4 per cent tax rate increase in the mayor’s draft budget, the committee began its deliberations with a debate about hiring more staff to improve maintenance of parks and public washrooms in the winter months.
“We’re under-resourced in the portfolio. I get complaints about garbage in the parks, overflowing garbage cans, public washrooms that are not maintained, broken equipment that doesn’t get fixed,” explained Councillor Skylar Franke who seconded the $1.12 million motion by Councillor Elizabeth Peloza.
However, Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis balked at adding to cost to the property tax base.
“You are never going to be able to staff this up to the volume that is going to satisfy everyone,” …