Last month, the business plan of the Winnipeg Parking Authority to hike rates and expand their empire hit a little bump on the road to implementation.
We raised serious concerns about the complaint process for bogus tickets, credit card charges, and towing incidents ie -- THERE IS NONE. We also pointed out to both the Alternative Services Committee and then to all of Council, that the WPA has no actual citizen or small business representation on its Board, and that our surveys proved that over 50% of pay station machines were either broken or improperly programmed. And for this they want to ding parkers for even more money ??
Even Mynarski Coun. Ross Eadie agreed that as long as Selkirk Avenue had meters, it was an obscenity to pretend they weren't "needed" to encourage parking "turnover" on say, Corydon aka "the elephant in the room".
And despite the inability of some reporters to understand plain English, let us reiterate that no one ever proposed paid parking be added to Little Italy; only saying that if the WPA truly believed in the principle of "high demand = meters", Corydon should have been part of their business plan.
Since it wasn't, the WPA was clearly targeting neighborhoods that could not defend themselves or didn't have political clout to stop the gouging.
That's the way it works in this city.
The result of our speech: the Parking Authority, which under former head honcho Dave Hill didn't think the public had anything to say worth hearing, is being required to hold public consultations BEFORE expanding in the Exchange District, Broadway and Portage "corridors" (whatever that term really means).
Score one for the listeners. Score one for the people.
But it appears our hands-on work at 510 Main Street has just begun.
Last Friday afternoon, City Hall tried to sneak another one past the taxpayers -- $3.63 Million of your (federal) taxes was being proposed for re-direction to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the announcement timed to ensure minimal actual reporting by mainstream media into the actual motion.
Executive Policy Committee would surely wield the rubber stamp to allow the City to act as middleman to enable more public dollars be chucked into the bottomless pit that is still short $25 million of their revised costs.
The latest round of panhandling was borne of the hubris of millionaire supporters, who assured all levels of government they could raise the money for the Museum from private sources and then failed miserably at both containing costs and understanding the meaning of "budget" and "accountability".
TGCTS supporters said 'not so fast', and urged us to ensure some accountability be brought into the process.
Wednesday morning at the EPC meeting, well-connected and well-intentioned suits lined up to present praise for the goals of the project:
- "This is the hope of the world"
- "Our friends in the us who say we can't do this, only Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada can do this"
- "There is nothing more important than this Taj Mahal, this Eiffel Tower with substance"
- Hundreds of thousands worldwide are "counting on us "
- "There is nothing more important than this Taj Mahal, this Eiffel Tower with substance"
- Hundreds of thousands worldwide are "counting on us "
None of which addressed the actual details of the motion or the ethical issues presented councillors and the Mayor.
The conditions placed upon the transfer of the federal PILT (payment in lieu of taxes) to the CMHR included the requirement "The Museum confirming other sources for the balance of the funding".
What, we asked EPC, does "confirming" mean?
Will it be like the other floundering pet project of millionaires, where the Friends of Upper Fort Garry were "required" to prove the depth of private donations, and city staff made excuses why the public could never see the list and learn how much money had actually been collected from donors and how much was in hypothetical pledge dollars? That won't do. Fool us once ...
Well, no clear answer was forthcoming, and the MSM has yet to report on that aspect of the CMHR motion.
BUT, one reporter did realize another clause we specifically questioned was newsworthy -- even if who raised the issue didn't make it into print.
Did you know the city borrowed money from the Manitoba Development Corporation to give to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in the first place?
When a city councillor was asked ( days before the meeting) what were "the requirements of the Loan Agreement" that had to be met before the next $3.6 million could be forwarded to the CMHR, the councillor had NO IDEA.
And until Mayor Katz' kinda/sorta explanation ( the PILT payments will go to repay the $11M loan of money given to the Museum in the first place, before the extra 3.6M would be advanced) was reported by Jen Skerritt, neither had almost anyone else outside of city hall and the provincial NDP government. (just look at the comments from Free Press readers)
Even the Canadian Taxpayers Federation had no idea, and they are in the watchdog business.
Colin Craig said that before 11.30 AM on Wednesday, when he saw the mention of the loan in the story online, he never heard of it, and that he was baffled by the Province lending money to the City to give to a federal Museum.
What EPC heard from TGCTS, also unreported in the media, was that if the city can afford to borrow money, our listeners, members of the Facebook groups, and sponsors of the radio show had some ideas.
36 of them.
At $100,000 each.
All serving people in genuine need, like children wanting to go to camp or needing cleft palate surgery, victims of crime or disease, food banks and homeless shelters.
The list was read. And to their credit, the councilors listened attentively.
They understood our points, that whatever the alleged financial viability of the Museum was, and the political advantages of being onside, that the public demands accountability, that they expected taxes be directed to core services, and most significantly, that many causes and organizations in Winnipeg themselves are having their own budget issues because of donor fatigue.
Like a monolithic Walmart, councillors heard the Museum has tapped out the charitable pool in Winnipeg, attributable to what one listener said was "philanthropy bordering on larceny".
Meanwhile, Osborne House has 23 children in the emergency shelter with their mothers, 80% of the kids are under 6, and the facility going through supplies at a record pace - over $1000 a week. They have no budget for this kind of demand.
To many in this community, including some who wear the Museum support pin, their view of this request for more tax dollars, with so many in need right now, today, in Winnipeg, is that City Council should be helping the people they serve, and the high-profile supporters of the Museum are well capable of either fulfilling their own fundraising needs or tightening their project belts.
Mayor Katz spoke with great passion about how doing the PILT refund was 'the right thing to do", and that the legacy of the CMHR would prove the doubters wrong. An invitation to his family Passover Seder was extended for 2012 to counter the Museum pessimism heard at our own table this year. He publicly thanked us for bringing the voice of the people to the debate and bringing up points of view that would otherwise be unheard.
Even after voting in support of the motion, which will be heard by all of council next Wednesday, other EPC members privately expressed their own appreciation for us again bringing the message of the people to City Hall.
And, a key CMHR official has politely asked to meet and discuss the concerns we presented.
They all knew, we were coming back to speak again, and make them at least think about what $3.63 million can do for those in need who cannot afford to dream, before Councillors do the inevitable and assist the millionaires in "need" of a tax break for their own dream.
Edit: Barb Judt, Executive Director of Osborne House, posted this comment on our Facebook page this morning:
As an organization that provides critical services to Winnipeg’s most vulnerable women and children, Osborne House believes that the City of Winnipeg’s first priority should be to protect the human rights of its most vulnerable. Although we do receive stable annual funding from the Provincial Government, we are dependent upon donations, grants and foundation dollars to survive. We do not receive any direct funding from the City of Winnipeg.
City taxpayers benefit tremendously from the services that Osborne House Inc. and many other not for profits that do not receive City of Winnipeg revenues. The need for the City of Winnipeg to become an active partner in supporting the delivery of some of the city’s most vital services is increasing at a significant rate.
A city is not a healthy city unless it contributes to the care of the fundamental human rights of its most vulnerable citizens.
This Wednesday, 9.30 AM, City Council meeting on Shaw TV, your voice will again be heard. You have the power.
Happy Easter, Happy Passover.
****************
Welcome to our many new readers. We'll have a federal election exclusive coming up this week and much more. We can be followed on Twitter @TGCTS
