Bronconnier gets a tongue-lashing

[burn_this_city]

Uh oh those bridges seem like a hot button issue

[browna]

Some gems in there.

Good ol' Ken, speaking for all (or at least the few in the gathered crowd who agreed with him) Calgarians, playing the "taxpayer" card. I wonder if he tells cops that they work for him too, and not to give him that ticket. Or tells Ken King, that being a ticket holder to the Flames game he goes to, he demands them to fire Keenan.

I wonder if Ken is going to run for mayor and fix it all?


"The $25 million approved for two inner-city pedestrian bridges was a hot topic, even though that project has no impact on people's taxes.

Money for the bridges comes from the capital budget, while the operating budget is the key in setting tax levels"

and

We are the lowest-taxed city in Canada," said David Hartwick, who brought his eight-year-old daughter, Denika, to City Hall.
"My concern is how they spend it. They could have built a north-central leg of the LRT and it would have served more people than the west leg."

First, isn't that under the capital budget too? And gee, you think he lives north central, and's never been west of 10 St? And where would that route run up? Has he looked at a map of Calgary and where the current C-train lines are currently, and can honestly say that somewhere around Edmonton trail deserves a Ctrain route before the entire west side of Calgary?

And who wants to guess that Colley-Urquhart is going to run for mayor next, and her little stunt to get people to sign her petition at this thing, right in front of Bronconnier.

Problem being, she gets her wish of a budget raise of 4% this year, and then when she's mayor in a couple years, she has to deal with the then severly underfunded areas that would've had some money flowing through it in this budget. Of course, she'll just complain about it being Bronconier's fault, but that and 50c will by a paper and the problem will still be there.

Meh about Bronconnier either way, but this sounds more like people cluelessly glancing at the blaring headlines on the front page of the Calgary Sun, and then storming into city hall complianing and demanding answers. City services cost more every year, like everything else does, and the city has one shot a year to collect that. With the downturn in the economy in the last few months, people are a bit tighter with thier money and don't realize that they've been living a little high off the hog for the last few years, and that living in this city has a price tag that's more then what people think its worth. The growth in the suburbs have created exponetial need for expanded city services which people are completly clueless about because it doesn't affect them. (I won't get into that argument, with new developments should be paying a larger share of the need to expand those services).

I'm truly surprised there wasn't some comment in there about oil prices so high in the year that the city should afford some of these projects on their own as a result....sounds like something that would come up from someone in that lot.

[troutman]

Ken The Plumber

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by browna

Meh about Bronconnier either way, but this sounds more like people cluelessly glancing at the blaring headlines on the front page of the Calgary Sun, and then storming into city hall complianing and demanding answers. City services cost more every year, like everything else does, and the city has one shot a year to collect that. With the downturn in the economy in the last few months, people are a bit tighter with thier money and don't realize that they've been living a little high off the hog for the last few years, and that living in this city has a price tag that's more then what people think its worth. The growth in the suburbs have created exponetial need for expanded city services which people are completly clueless about because it doesn't affect them. (I won't get into that argument, with new developments should be paying a larger share of the need to expand those services).

Bronconnier has proven that he has no ability to manage a budget and find saving - he simply whines about more money to the province and feds, or bumps taxes.

I get that stuff costs more and our city is growing - but I also think this type of tax hike is unreasonable.

[burn_this_city]

People are going to point out any type of pork in a budget that has tax hikes.

[Ozy_Flame]

And yet Bronco won with what - a 61% majority? And with a 20-30% voter turnout last year.

I don't want to call people out, but anyone who didn't vote probably should have cast a ballot...

[browna]

Originally Posted by fotze

and now that they are backing off on it, there was room to be sliced.

Or you're just pushing it back and delaying it and hope whatever you're slicing gets through another year.

Then you have EMS or the CPS or the garbage truck drivers or whoever's now out of the budget equation talking about going on strike.

I don't doubt that there's excess in a city budget..in any city budget. I just think this is partially fueled because people are more sensative now, now that they're houses aren't worth as much as they were two years ago, their portfolio's are in the crapper...they expect the city's budget to mirror that of their own...when as I said, the city has only one time a yer to collect and you lilkey have several city departments sticking out their hands for more (rightly or wrongly) cash, and the city has to play catchup for the first half of this year when the city/economy was still flying somewhat high.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

And yet Bronco won with what - a 61% majority? And with a 20-30% voter turnout last year.

I don't want to call people out, but anyone who didn't vote probably should have cast a ballot...

Calgarians don't elect mayors, we pick one guy and then HE decides when he doesn't want the job anymore.

[Resolute 14]

Thats true of most cities though.

Lets face it, the only other high profile candidate last time around was a flat out crook.

Some choice.

[Flames in 07]

Originally Posted by browna

Or you're just pushing it back and delaying it and hope whatever you're slicing gets through another year.

Then you have EMS or the CPS or the garbage truck drivers or whoever's now out of the budget equation talking about going on strike.

I don't doubt that there's excess in a city budget..in any city budget. I just think this is partially fueled because people are more sensative now, now that they're houses aren't worth as much as they were two years ago, their portfolio's are in the crapper...they expect the city's budget to mirror that of their own...when as I said, the city has only one time a yer to collect and you lilkey have several city departments sticking out their hands for more (rightly or wrongly) cash, and the city has to play catchup for the first half of this year when the city/economy was still flying somewhat high.

I don't think that's true at all. I just think they don't expect it to go up 25% in 3 years, that's all.

There are a few sources of why the budget is to skyrocket, one is that I haven't seen alot of city transacting but what I have seen I'm quite shocked on how much they pay for things from 3rd parties. And second I think in part Calgarians are to blame. Everyone wants a big house on a big lot is some burb 25km from where they work. All things that are infrastructure go up quickly when that happens.

I've said it on here a few times. I know a few builders who over the last 10 years have said city taxes in Calgary are going to skyrocket because everyone feels entitled to a huge chunk of land and that is growing this city ways that are rediculous. It's too sparse.

[Flames in 07]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Thats true of most cities though.

Lets face it, the only other high profile candidate last time around was a flat out crook.

Some choice.

Exactly, who else were we going to pick?

[ricoFlame]

people are always more comfortable with the familiar. i'm one of the non voters, i didn't have a sniff who to vote for.

[Caged Great]

Next election, if he runs go with Alderman Joe Connelly. Anybody but Dave.

[Kjesse]

Bronconnier is finished. Next election he'll get trounced. Calgarians were willing to ignore his tax-and-spend ways because times were good and we tend to let our mayor fly under the radar.

His support of a 25% increase in taxes has sealed his fate.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Delgar

Bronconnier is finished. Next election he'll get trounced. Calgarians were willing to ignore his tax-and-spend ways because times were good and we tend to let our mayor fly under the radar.

His support of a 25% increase in taxes has sealed his fate.

I hope so. The guy doesn't really appear to be one who knows how to spend efficiently or effectively. The city does need key upgrades to services, like the LRT, but Bronco wants to dump in all of the taxpayers' bucks at once, instead of making key cuts and redistributions from other less essential parts of the budget.

[calculoso]

Originally Posted by fotze

and now that they are backing off on it, there was room to be sliced.

They aren't backing off on it at all... they're just demanding more money from Enmax instead of getting it from Taxpayers -- who just happen to buy electricity and water and sewer and such from Enmax.

Don't be fooled. Nothing was cut.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by fotze

REally? FATA!. I forgot about Enmax, when they say CHeapest taxes in Canada do other City's have a private utility like that to collect some of the taxes?

"Private" utility.

[Ozy_Flame]

Duerr had no tax increases for four straight years in Calgary, and at that time, had next to no infrastructure expansion or large increase of services.

Since Calgary began bursting at the seems in the early millenium, Bronconnier and Council have been trying to catch-up from the inactivity of the previous mayor.

What did everyone think was going to happen? We have a city growing unlike any other in North America, everyone jumping on the Calgary bandwagon at once in the last few years, and now we have tax increases just to help keep up the pace? And of course, when it's time to introduce a new budget, it happens right when we're heading into a worldwide recession, making people extra sensitive to word "hike."

I feel sorry for Bronco, Council, and the CMO. They're in a difficult situation - everyone wants a well-serviced city - efficient roads, better transit, more policemen, clean parks and streets, and yet no one wants to pay an extra dime for it beyond what inflation demands.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by fotze

I doubt it, he built overpasses or he looks like the guy responsible for overpasses, he will be re-elected until he is caught raping a litter of chihuahua's.

Or a decent challenger steps up to the plate. Someone who is a viable alternative to Bronco. Lately we've had nothing.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Duerr had no tax increases for four straight years in Calgary, and at that time, had next to no infrastructure expansion or large increase of services.

Since Calgary began bursting at the seems in the early millenium, Bronconnier and Council have been trying to catch-up from the inactivity of the previous mayor.

What did everyone think was going to happen? We have a city growing unlike any other in North America, everyone jumping on the Calgary bandwagon at once in the last few years, and now we have tax increases just to help keep up the pace? And of course, when it's time to introduce a new budget, it happens right when we're heading into a worldwide recession, making people extra sensitive to word "hike."

I feel sorry for Bronco, Council, and the CMO. They're in a difficult situation - everyone wants a well-serviced city - efficient roads, better transit, more policemen, clean parks and streets, and yet no one wants to pay an extra dime for it beyond what inflation demands.

In fairness to Duerr, don't forget that he was the mayor when both Alberta and the Feds were getting their debt under control. It was a trickle down effect.

The feds gave less to the provinces, who in turn gave less to the municipalities. Unless Calgarians were willing to pay substantially more for taxes at the same time that they were being asked to service the debt of their province and the country, then there was not that much that Duerr could do.