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May
2002 Newsletter
Paying
for the Expressway: the Budget Cuts
The
new City budget proposed major cuts on libraries, social
housing, public health, disabled transit (DARTS), the HSR,
cemeteries, recycling and a long list of environmental programs.
Council has backed off on some of these cuts including cutting
service to over two thousand DARTS users, and terminating
the Clean Air Hamilton program. But these may be back on
the table next year (or even sooner).
A
tax increase for homeowners is virtually inevitable, perhaps
as high as $120. Nearly half of this will be used to REDUCE
business taxes by $7.1 million.
Here
are some of the key cuts.
Transit:
This past year, the provincial government took over financing
of GO Transit handing Hamilton a $3.2 million transit windfall.
This was supposed to be used for local transit, but it hasn't
happened. Instead, evening, weekend and holiday service
on Cannon, Aberdeen, York, Locke, Parkdale and Sanatorium
is being reduced to once every hour to save $311,000.
Social
Housing:
Homelessness and the deepening rental housing crisis are
apparently not major concerns of the Wade administration.
The
budget documents note that "Hamilton has no municipal
program for affordable housing supply unlike municipalities
such as Ottawa, Waterloo, London, Peel and Toronto. Hamilton
has one of the lowest vacancy rates in the Province and
the longest waiting list." (p.248). But an $800,000
proposal to establish the Hamilton Affordable Housing Partnership
Initiative to leverage federal and provincial investment
in new affordable housing is rejected.
There
are also various cuts to the Housing division, at least
some of which impact on social housing including reducing
the subsidy to Hamilton Housing Corporation by $75,000;
cutting of $100,000 for management of social housing (as
a result of more "favourable" contract with property
management company); and cutting one of nine social housing
staff to save $35,000; Total housing cuts are $547,000.
(p.149-157)
Public
Health:
The Ontario Ministry of Health recently analyzed Hamilton's
delivery of required public health services and found the
City is NOT complying with provincial law.
This
has forced the City to add $1.9 million to their public
health programs. However, this is being accompanied by further
cuts in non-mandatory public health services.
These
include eliminating presentations by Public Health Nurses
to grade 1 and 2 students to save $17,500. Allegedly they
can be replaced by teachers or volunteers using a resource
kit (yet to be developed). (p165)
There
are also cuts of 20% ($124,000) from family resource centres;
elimination of one of four staff maintaining a phone support
line for public health programs to save $40,600 (p167);
saving $75,000 on free flu clinics by "internal program
prioritization and resource allocation" (p168); and
elimination of responding to complaints about animal wastes
on private property (currently about 600 calls a year) to
save $35,000 (p169).
Libraries:
Two years ago, the CIBC donated a $280,000 former bank to
provide a new Locke Street Library. It was supposed to open
in January 2001, but no work has begun. The new budget can't
find $250,000 for the renovations (p394).
It
also identifies as "unaffordable" renovations
to the heating and ventilation systems at the Central Library
and Terryberry and Kenilworth branch libraries.
Council
is also demanding that the Library Board reduce its budget
request by $320,000 (p.191). The Library has decided to
meet this shortfall out of its reserves.
Earlier
this year, library branch hours were cut by 108 hours a
week.
 Seniors
Tax Rebate:
This $1.2 million support program is being cut by 41%. The
universality of the program in Hamilton, Dundas and Stoney
Creek will be eliminated, and replaced with a means test.
While seniors in all the former municipalities will now
be eligible, the change will save the City $500,000. It
is highly unlikely that the maximum rebate of $125 a year
will even cover this year's increase in taxes, hydro bills
and the water/sewer rates.
Recycling
and Waste:
The budget delays the startup for one-third of apartment
recyling programs to save $125,000 (p.175). It also closes
the Centre Road (Flamborough) leaf and yard waste depot
to save $22,200 (p.172); doubles the minimum charge for
waste dropoffs at transfer stations (from $5 to $10 per
car load) to generate $201,000; and starts charging $20
for each "white good" picked up at curbside to
generate another $200,000 (p171).
Council
also can't find $105,000 to provide special environment
days for household hazardous waste collection (p.251); or
$25,000 to cover research on planning and implementing waste
reduction and diversion programs (p.254).
Perhaps
most damaging of all it can't find $260,200 to fund promotion
of waste diversion programs (p.255). This appears to be
a way of ensuring that the 65% waste diversion target is
not achieved and the 'fall-back' position of building another
incinerator is adopted instead.
Cemeteries:
Even the dead won't escape Wade's budget knife which eliminates
one staff person out of nine responsible for "cemetery
operating activities, interments, care and maintenance,
and general grounds maintenance, etc." The impact is
listed as an 11% reduction in these services. Saving is
$45,280. (p.192)
Environmental:
The following hits to environmental groups and programs
are part of the budget:
- Hamilton
Conservation Authority — can't find $312,240
for Hamilton Conservation Authority five-year action plan
to increase publicly owned areas, improve flood protection,
re-establish a public education program, enhance trails
and improve protection of water resources. (p.286)
- Royal
Botanical Gardens — Budget being cut by $100,000
(13%) (p.200)
- Pesticide
Reduction
— Budget can't find $196,140 to "allow reductions
in pesticide use on municipal properties" through
implementation of the Integrated Plant Health Care Program.
(p.280)
- Action
2020 — can't find $62,400 for Action 2020. This
represents a rejection of a $50,000 request plus imposition
of a $12,400 rental charge. (p.246)
- Hamilton
Naturalists' Club — elimination of $50,000 previously
intended to be contributed to the Nature Counts biological
inventory of environmentally significant areas in Hamilton.
(p.142)
OTHER
CUTS
City
Hall Phone Service
Have you had difficulty reaching someone at City Hall? It's
going to get a lot worse. Fourteen staff are being cut from
public service posts. Seven will be eliminated from the
"customer contact centre" meaning that it will
now take an AVERAGE of 59 seconds to answer a phone call
and five days to respond to an email.
At
present 89% of calls are answered within 20 seconds. The
reduction will reduce this to 50% of calls within 30 seconds.
On
Mondays, the average time to answer a call will be 4.75
minutes! (p.117). Seven additional positions will be eliminated
at the "municipal service centres" resulting in
reduction of open hours and elimination of the service at
the info desk. Total savings are $618,000.
Swimming
Pools — will close 16 pools to public swimming
for an extra week per year to save $45,000 (p190)
Life
Guards — can't find $12,450 to provide additional
life guards at Bennetto Pool (p.264) Also can't find $147,450
for additional life guard and other pool staff for other
pools (p.265)
Fire
— can't find money for several equipment and vehicle
upgrades for fire department and additional staff for emergency
services. Three fire stations report "insufficient
staff" to meet Ontario Fire Marshall office standards.
These are Ancaster, Tapleytown and Dundas. Total requested
and rejected for Emergency Services is slightly over $1
million. (p.270-278)
Volunteer
Appreciation — can't find $11,050 for a volunteer
appreciation strategy (p.259)
Grass
Cutting in Parks — will now only cut roadside and
boulevards once a month instead of twice a month to save
$75,000; and reduce all other parks cutting to every 10.5
days instead of every seven days. This applies to sports
fields and baseball diamonds and the areas around them.
Saving for this is $137,450. (p.193-194).
Unspecified
cuts — staff are committing to finding "an
additional $1.5 million in savings from reorganization,
re-structuring, efficiencies, etc. Service impacts cannot
be determined at this time." (p.202)
Not
Recommended (but thinking about it)
The above cuts still require a 5-6% tax increase so Council
asked staff to provide other cuts for them to consider.
While staff are not recommending these cuts, they are obviously
the next items on the hit list. They may not go this year,
but would appear to be the most likely candidates for cuts
in future years.
The
list includes:
- selling
Wentworth Lodge for the aged;
-
reducing light output at night in pedestrian signal lights;
- increasing
HSR fares by either 25 cents per cash fare or .05 cents
for all fares;
- eliminating
caretaking services for Boys and Girls Club (to save $15,000);
- charging
$15 per person/per season for use of playing fields;
- shutting
down six of ten outdoor pools including Parkdale, Green
Acres, Ancaster Lions, Victoria Park, Coronation, and
Inch Park;
- permanently
closing Jimmy Thompson pool;
- raising
ice rental rates by another $10 an hour;
- eliminating
the Gage Park rose garden and the Mum show;
- cutting
the streetscaping (floral boulevards) program by 40%;
- closing
the Red Hill Family Centre;
- stop
supporting 67 second-level lodging homes;
- sell
Macassa Lodge;
-
cut public health compliance with Ministry of Health from
current 72.5% to 64%;
- reduce
the HSR fleet by up to 20 buses;
- close
Riverdale community centre;
- close
Eastwood Arena;
- close
the Children's Museum;
- major
cuts to fire services and ambulances;
- etc.
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