Winnipeg's new mayor
Brian Bowman knew where to find the money for the off-leash dog park he
promised his friends in the suburbs---take it from inner city children
using city pools.
Bowman and his handpicked chairman of the
city's finance committee, Charleswood councillor Marty Marantz,
brought a budget to city council cutting $300,000 from the aquatics recreation
programs used by the children and spending $300,000 on a park where dogs can
run around.
They whined a lot about how tough it was to
balance the budget and how they had to make tough decisions. But all along they
had no intention of saving money by reducing spending on recreation services.
They just raided the kids for cash for dogs.
"I'd like to see it as a destination for
Winnipeggers in the suburbs, to have a reason to come downtown..." was the
way Bowman put it.
This act alone will define Bowman's term in
office.
Brian Bowman started breaking his
campaign promises almost from the first day he was elected. His lies are
piling up daily.
Bowman made a big issue about raising
property taxes only at the rate of inflation. He didn't define which rate of
inflation---the consumer price index, the federal, provincial or city rate of
inflation. He claimed when presenting his budget that the tax
increase was only 2.3 percent.
As is usual with Bowman, he was
cheating. If the property tax hike of $37 on an average home translates
to a 2.3 percent increase, then the $112 total annual boost in city taxes,
rates and fees imposed by Bowman on homeowners is equal to a tax hike of 7
percent.
You read that right. Brian
Bowman has raised taxes 7 percent in his first budget. That's
triple what he promised voters during the mayoral election campaign.
And he still intended on robbing money from
children's aquatics.
Oh, but didn't he restore the aquatics
funding when the budget came to council?
Don't forget what Bowman and
I'M-MARTY-MORANTZ-AND-I'M-A-LAWYER said less than one week before the budget
meeting, starting with the headline in the Winnipeg Free Press.
Finance chairman says budget cuts
to Winnipeg's
indoor pools will remain in place.
By:
Aldo Santin. Posted: 03/17/2015 12:53 PM
...Community groups hoping to see cuts
to indoor pool programming rolled back received a wake-up call Tuesday.
Finance chairman Coun. Marty Morantz said
he and his fellow councillors on executive policy committee will not restore
$100,000 to indoor pools, as outlined in last week’s preliminary budget.
Morantz said despite the recommendations
from the protection and community services committee, he expects the cuts will
remain in the budget.
...Bowman later agreed with
Morantz, saying he didn’t see EPC reversing its position on the pool cuts.
So Bowman and Morantz flip-flopped in less
than a week. They didn't have a change of heart. They just couldn't stand the
public heat.
What's important, to remind all the
lawyers (ptui) on council, is the mens rea---their true intention.
Which was to screw the kids and spend on
dogs.
It took more than six years for former
Mayor Sam Katz to reveal his true self to voters. And that was only after he
spit in the electorate's face by promising to hold the line on property taxes,
only to hike frontage fees, then claim he kept his word. (Sound familiar?) He
must have thought he was being so clever, just as Bowman and Morantz do.
But this cabal need only see where Katz's cleverness brought him to see their
own future.
By the way, do you know what the rate of
inflation is? It was one percent in February. We're already hearing that
Bowman intends to abandon his pledge to hold tax increases to the rate of
inflation, and say he only meant to do that the first year in office.
And did you notice what was missing in the
Bowman budget? Any mention that the Canadian Museum
for Human Rights was finally paying its taxes.
Here's
what the Winnipeg Free Press wrote March 4:
"On
Tuesday, Brian Bowman tabled a city budget that calls for a 2.3 per cent hike
in the total pool of taxes collected from city properties in 2015. This move
will generate $11.7 million worth of revenue for the cash-strapped city."
That is less than the $12 million or so
owed by the CMHR in current and back taxes. If they paid their fair
share, then Winnipeg
would be spared any tax hike.
That is, except for the fact that Bowman
is all in favour of higher taxes on homeowners. He forgot to mention that
when running for office.
"Shifting the tax burden from
the business community to homeowners is part of Brian Bowman’s long-term
strategy to spur growth in Winnipeg."
(Winnipeg Free
Press, March 3)
Oh, and Bowman is on the record via
Twitter as saying that raising taxes proportionally on the poorest residents of
Winnipeg is the
best way to go.
Wpg
Mayor's Office @Bowman4Wpg
Frontage levies are a flat rate per foot & are more progressive than
property taxes. #wpgcouncil
Summing up Brian Bowman's short term of
office you have him:
* in favour of taking money from inner
city children to spend on dogs
* shifting taxes from businesses to
struggling homeowners
* raising taxes the most on the poorest
citizens while refusing to fight to collect taxes from the pet projects of
millionaires.
Four more years, eh.