Budget Warning: Cuts Ahead, But Which Ones?

So, I just got out of the official media brief on the finer points of budget proposals being brought to council on Monday, and this hand is all cuts. Well, sort of.

First and foremost, as was repeated numerous times throughout the brief, these are mere proposals. Council will make the final call (or cut as it were) on the December 14th and 15th meetings when the official budget is passed. As for the proposals themselves, Chief Administrative Officer Hans Loewing called them a "menu of options" split into two groups: "Department Reduction Proposals" and "Other Considerations."

Basically, the city is trying to mitigate the loss of $8.1 million in revenues as much as possible. What this means is, even without any new spending, and using the numbers from the 2009 budget, there's already a 5.2 per cent increase in the 2010 budget that needs to be covered. Contractual obligations, collective agreements and compensation account for another 4 per cent increase. So when it's all said and done, the City of Guelph basically needs to find another $14.4 million for 2010.

So where is much of that money going to come from? Cuts mostly, hopes city officials. With the options presented in the "Department Reduction Proposals" the city can save 4.48 per cent or $7.4 million. If all the items under "Other Considerations" are enacted then a further $2.5 million can be shaved off the deficit, bringing the increase down to a more manageable 3 per cent.

Now the big question: Where do we trim? The City included some ideas, and again to emphasize, these are mere proposals. If you don't like something, let your voice be heard at one of the public meetings, the full schedule for which can be found on an earlier post. Just keep scrolling down.

Proposed Cuts Under "Department Reduction Proposals"

• $91,100 cuts Economic Development & Tourism (incl. promo materials)
• 5 unpaid days off for all city staff
• A reduction in staffing of 29 full time positions, hopefully to be accomplished by attrition ie: retirements and resignations
• Elimination of stat holiday bus service
• Summer schedule for transit
• 7 per cent fare increase for transit (Note: I asked how this would translate to dollar value for a single ride pass on a city bus and was told that the exact breakdown is not yet known, but it could be somewhere between 10 and 20 cents)
• Increased rental fees on city facilities (rooms, rinks, rec facilities)
• Delayed opening of east end branch of the library till June '10
• Reduction in travel, catering and conference costs

Proposed Cuts Under "Other Considerations"

• Closing Centennial and Lyon's pools
• Closing Centennial rink
• Eliminating John Galt Day activities
• Eliminating 2 hour free parking downtown
• Adjusting the Industrial and Perimeter transit routes (Note: this does not mean cancelling them)

This is far from a complete and thorough list, but if you have any questions or comments about anything specific, feel free to post below.