Councillors may cancel ward fund spending for 2015

Meeting tonight, city councillors are expected to decide whether to eliminate the $600,000 budget for the controversial ward funds for this year, as the city is looking for ways to freeze taxes this year without cutting services.

A report going to city council gives them the option of eliminating new spending on the health community initiative funds – known a slush funds among critics – and dividing previously unspent amounts equally among the 12 wards.

The funds provide each councillor with $50,000 a year each to spend in their wards on local projects. They have become controversial because several years ago, councillors took over direct spending control for the money, and boosted the size of the funds.

Money unspent in one year can be carried over into the next year, although spending limits in election years have been brought in, and new restrictions on how they can be spent were brought in following an audit by former Auditor General Brian Bigger.

Bigger, who was elected mayor in October, also recommended taking away spending control from politicians, something rejected by the previous city council. However, only two people – Ward 4 Coun. Evelyn Dutrisac and Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann – were re-elected in October, and many new councillors ran on a platform of reforming or eliminating the funds.

Tonight, councillors will review two options: eliminating the funds for 2015, and evenly distributing unspent money from previous years – $510,000 – among the 12 wards, which would receive $42,500 each.

The second option would be to maintain the funds as is, allowing councillors to keep the $510,000 and adding $600,000 for all the wards, or $50,00 each.

As of the end of 2014, the ward with the most unspent HCI money is Ward 9, previously held by Doug Craig, who retired in October. Currently held by Deb McIntosh, unspent funds total more than $110,000. Second on the list is Ward 6 at $109,000; Ward 11 has $83,500 in unspent funds; Ward 2 has $82,000; and Ward 12 has $39,500.

On the bottom of the scale, Ward 5 has $2,690 in unspent HCI money; Ward 10 has $7,750; and Ward 8 has almost $9,200.


Regent rockfall cost the city $62K

Remember that huge chuck of rock that fell from the rockface on Regent Street last October near the former Memorial Hospital?

City councillors will hear tonight that dealing with the minor emergency it caused cost taxpayers $61,949, plus tax. That's how much it cost to call in a rock engineering specialist, as well as a contractor to come in and clear the debris.

“The rock engineer advised that, based on the condition and type of rock in the area, there appeared to be additional hazards in the area of the rockfall and a detailed appraisal of the area rock face was recommended,” the report to city council says. “Staff authorized the rock engineer to carry out the detailed appraisal of the area rock face, which resulted in a recommendation to carry out scaling of the rock face in areas adjacent to the rockfall within the Regent Street right of way.”

The contractor cleared away a total of 50 cubic metres of rock weighing 1,700 tonnes of rock and restored the site to ensure it was safe for drivers along the busy route. The almost $62,000 in costs also included money to restore the road and curb, which had been damaged when the rock gave way.