Last night we were given the answer the question: Does City Council recognize that there has been a very dramatic shift in the economy since Staff first put together the 2009-2013 financial plan? The
answer we have been given is that they do not. Staff's original plan remained unscathed excepting that 1% of the overall 5.3% increase will come from taxpayers savings rather than their current pay cheques (if they are fortunate to still have them, or if their pensions have not been hit).
It is to be hoped that our new Council will continue to struggle with the budget through the next year so that they can understand what it is that they are passing. It is my opinion from watching recent Council meetings that they have been easily flummoxed. By next year it is to be hoped that they understand the ins and outs of the budget closely enough that they can avoid the difficulties of the boards of Enron or GM or Chrysler.
On another note, Katherine Davis and James Cunningham made informed and impassioned pleas to have a review of the Busking Bylaw (a task which was apparently supposed to have taken place a number of years ago). While citing a number of problems with the current bylaw, it became apparent that central to the discussion is the definition of buskers (street performers). The buskers see themselves as modern day troubadors, artists who should be dealt with by the City's Arts and
Culture Committee, while the City's perspective is that they are a nuisance to be dealt with by the SAFER Committee (made up of the RCMP, VIHA, Bylaw Enforcement, etc.). I suspect that any of
us can take either view, depending on the calibre of the entertainment offered.
The buskers argue that there need be no Bylaw and that the market will sort out the wheat from the chaff. In fact, the city does have other nuisance bylaws by which panhandlers (it can be argued that a "busker" with no recognized talent is in fact a panhandler) can be dealt with. Let's hope all the groups involved can work together to make a summer visit to our downtown streets a pleasure for our citizens and visitors, our merchants and our street entertainers. Let's not forget that Robin Williams started out as a busker.
