Well served

It is a good start.

Council had been clear. It wanted to spend no more taxpayers’ money in 2011 than it did last year. So when the first draft landed on their desks with nearly a 10 per cent increase—ostensibly to maintain services and infrastructure at current levels—the direction was simple: go back and try again.

Some were skeptical. Budget cutting has not traditionally been an honest and open exercise at Shire Hall. Only recently have council and the public been permitted more than a narrow glimpse into the finances of the municipality.

When pushed to rein in spending, the former budget chief and outgoing CAO would simply flip the question back to council and ask which service or asset they would like to eliminate. They did this knowing council had neither the data nor the stomach to hack off entire chunks of their business. It was a dishonest bargain.

Council didn’t understand the businesses they were overseeing and some senior staff preferred it that way. Council, instead, was allowed to fight over the crumbs of community projects away from business of the municipality. They would wile away budget days arguing the merits of arts in the community, as volunteers tried to extract a few thousand dollars. Meanwhile, millions of dollars in debt were being racked up to pay for grand road management schemes with little or no scrutiny.

This was how budget deliberations played out—council on the outside, staff on the inside. Council would pound on the door but got little response.

In the meantime the municipality racked up annual budget increases of 10 and 12 per cent—more than doubling the taxpayer burden in 10 years.

Thankfully much has changed.

Council has a new and professional finance team that after two years is beginning to hit its stride, racking up an impressive list of achievements—each one improving the transparency and accountability of municipal business.

This is important because one can’t manage a business— or oversee one, as council does—without understanding the numbers. For 10 years council was working in the dark. Now the lights are on and the County’s business—warts and is available for examination.

Municipal staff took another important step in developing a professional and honest relationship with council this week.

When asked to bring back a budget with a zero per cent increase—that is precisely what its staff did. It was an honest, thoughtful and balanced approach to cutting costs. It was mindful that next year we need to do this all over again—that merely pushing expenses into future years isn’t a solution for today.

Each cost-cutting measure is identified, explained and measured. Municipal department heads have looked at the impact of each cut and concluded that it won’t jeopardize the safety and vitality of its services and infrastructure.

They have given council all it asked for.

This doesn’t mean getting to zero will be easy. Most, if not all the cuts, will be difficult. Many will complain loudly about cuts that affect them. However an honest debate can now begin; this is to the credit of the County’s municipal staff.

Now only council can mess this up. That may still happen. Council was to have met this past Tuesday to begin haggling over the cuts. Some, including Sophiasburgh’s Kevin Gale and Hallowell’s Keith MacDonald, are already threatening to put several deleted items back in the budget. They will have compelling and valid arguments to do so. They will have some vocal community support.

But before council opens the floodgate and undoes all the hard work done to get the budget here—they must first consider those folks struggling to make ends meet each month.

Will one more boat launch improve their lives? How about better drainage along the road to Sandbanks Provincial Park? Council was well served by its staff in this budget season— it needs to bite the bullet, take the heat from the individuals and interest groups whose oxes are being gored, and move on. If council was serious about reining in the spending— staff has given them the means to do it. They need to take it. Or else the only thing they’ll be haggling over is their own credibility.

rick@wellingtontimes.ca