Are Councillors Gutless On Budget? MULVIHILL
Do councillors have what it takes?
That is the question that must be posed to each City of Ottawa councillor and Mayor Mark Sutcliffe about the upcoming budget. Do they have the guts … yes guts … to tackle all of the capital and operational fixes this city needs? Can they put aside their pet projects to focus the limited financial resources on must-haves?
Must-haves include, but are not limited to deteriorating buildings, infrastructure, affordable housing, road maintenance, decaying sidewalks, dangerous intersections, transit, reserve-fund replenishment, park maintenance and much more.
Wants can only be considered as perhaps nice-to-have. Affordability is an entirely different matter. This will be an interesting budget process. Ottawans will discover whether the majority of councillors have actually listened to their constituents or are merely sheep with the shepherd being Sutcliffe.
Donna Mulvihill is a community activist and former hospital coordinator
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I predict it will be Watson era budgeting all over again from the new Bobblehead council.
The problem with fixing the problem areas, so to speak, is that it’s not ‘sexy’. Snow ploughing, road maintenance, transit, none of it is showy enough to win you votes. Now Lansdowne, that’s showy. That wins votes.
Sadly, the campaigning never stops and the governing never starts.
OMG Nicholas, the newest and greatest City of Ottawa moto:
”the campaigning never stops and the governing never starts”
Don’t kid yourself! Sutcliffe is NOT the shepherd. He’s just the face of the people behind the throne. Look at who brought us Sutcliffe as a candidate to see who’s controlling half the levers that make him work and then look to the senior bureaucracy for who runs the other half.
This man was a non-entity that few had heard of before he was put forward as a candidate for mayor. Running a small, trade publication doesn’t make you a household name; you need backers with money to do that. At least Larry O’Brien, while also an outsider to Council, was very active in the community as well as running Calian before he ran for mayor.
On several occasions, I’ve seen our current mayor turn to staff during a Council meeting and literally ask them how he should vote. Once there was an amendment to a motion on the table and he asked the City Manager if she agreed with it. She said yes and he then said words to the effect of if she approved of it, he would vote in favour. If the City Manager is determining the vote of the mayor, she should run for the job herself. Only then should she get to decide that vote.
Sutcliffe, as mayor, is definitely not his own man and never has been.
There is no sign that the city managers know much about public sector management. The budget has very little discretionary funding, By this time of year isn’t it all in can already????