Politics and prudence. At times, you may have a better chance of forcing water and oil to mix.
Sometimes making a prudent decision can exact political blood — something most politicians will avoid like the plague to get re-elected.
Sometimes making a political decision is an expedient thing to do: make the electorate happy now, deal with the consequences later.
Politics is hard work. The highwire act is constant, and when politicians face the fiscal squeeze, the heat becomes scorching. The electorate wants the city's parks maintained. The electorate wants nice neighbourhoods to live in. The electorate wants snow removal. The electorate wants public transit. The electorate wants recreation facilities. These all cost money. The dichotomy is that the electorate wants low taxes, too.
So, here we are at the precipice. The City of St. Albert, like most municipalities in the western world, is facing a financial crunch. As the city enters its budget deliberations, it has become certain that something must give. City admin is estimating a tax levy of $127 million (our property taxes, not including franchise fees, user fees, funds from other levels of government, fines, etc.), representing, at the moment, an 8.2-per-cent increase in our property taxes.
Readers may recall an operational and fiscal review, tabled last year in May, at a cost of $1 million, submitted by consultants Ernst & Young. In that review, 40 opportunities for efficiencies were identified. Fiscal sustainability, cost reduction, implementation of priority-based business planning and budgeting were some of the key components.
Today, however, there is hardly a mention of this $1-million review. Today, service reductions and staffing cuts are not on the table, according to administration. Instead, administration has its eye on the proverbial rainy-day fund, otherwise known as the stabilization reserve. There’s about $8.3 million of uncommitted funds sitting in there. The debate is whether it’s prudent to access the reserve, or politically expedient to do so. Politics is tough, indeed.
What is somewhat troublesome is the city is banking on the reserve to attain “some time to properly assess options for services/service levels to ensure that we are making the best-informed decisions,” according to an Aug.16 backgrounder delivered to council.
City council and administration live, eat, and breathe in the world of municipal governance. It is perplexing why they need time to assess options. The E&Y report, coupled with considerable municipal experience from our mayor and several councillors, not to mention expertise in administration, provided the city with ample opportunity to tackle these fiscal challenges head-on.
This problem is not unique to St. Albert. All municipalities, provinces, and the federal government find themselves in an economic quagmire. Businesses and individuals are no different. Coming out the backside of the pandemic has proved difficult. Inflation is a serious issue. Supply chain issues are still prevalent. We are all in this together, and problems demand solutions. Solutions demand leadership.
Politics is hard work. We live in a time where we all need to take our medicine. It might taste awful, but some prevention today will pave the way for better fiscal health tomorrow.
Editorials are the consensus view of the St. Albert Gazette’s editorial board.
