Are You Getting Your Money's Worth?
The following comparisons taken from the 2009 City Financial Report I realize are over simplified but nonetheless are worthy of consideration.
The total number of dollars your City Council spent last year was $138,773,559.00, which works out to $3833.00 per household or $1734.00 per person.
Now consider, what did you get for your share?
We have lived in the same 70 year old house in Townsite for the past 12 years and in that time have seen the snow plowed a few times, had one water leak fixed (took half a day) and had our water turned off one time.
There still are no sidewalks in the neighbourhood, there are still open ditches, and generally speaking there has likely not been anything done on this street for decades.
So where did all those tax dollars go?
Nearly $100,000,000.00 to build the convention centre which is costing another $1,000,000.00 per year to run.
$500,000.00 per year to subsidize people's entertainment at the Port Theatre. (By now you would think it would support itself).
$500,000.00 to pay an ex city manager to do nothing for two years.
$200,000.00 per year, for years, paying for a deputy city manager whose job has proven to be redundant.
$3,000,000.00 to Millennium to not build a hotel. (I would have done it for less)
$???,???.?? to tear down the old arena, after putting a new roof on it.
That is just a short list, which takes little time or research to put together, it does not even look at the 'fat' which I am sure independent research would uncover at city hall. Fat, which the current council seems totally unable or unwilling to address, even though it is the biggest single expenditure the taxpayers have in this city.
Parting Thought
What qualifies members of council or city staff to venture into the area of multi million real estate deals anyway? What kind of business savvy do any of these people have?
Beyond supplying water, sewer, roads, sidewalks and a few swimming pools, is it possible that our council and city staff is simply not qualified to be building convention centres and hotels and cruise ship terminals and the like.
To date their record seems to call their competence into question.
Makes you think, doesn't it? great blog, by the way. Love it.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what would qualify anyone on City Staff or elected Council to make multi-million dollar business decisions.
ReplyDeleteIf private enterprise can not figure out how to make a buck at something, there's a great chance, civil servants won't either.
The difference of course is that the civil servant doesn't lose anything if they squander our money.
Perhaps Council and City Staff have all gone well beyond their level of competence (The Peter Principle) and we, the taxpayers, are paying for their ineptness.