6TH REPORT OF THE
Strategic
Priorities and Policy Committee
(2013
BUDGET PUBLIC PARTICIPATION MEETING #2)
meeting held on February
13, 2013, commencing at 4:07 PM, in the Council Chambers, Second Floor, London
City Hall.
PRESENT: Mayor J.F. Fontana (Chair),
Councillors B. Polhill, W.J. Armstrong, J.B. Swan, S. Orser, J.L. Baechler, N.
Branscombe, M. Brown, P. Hubert, D.G. Henderson, P. Van Meerbergen, D.T.
Brown, H.L. Usher, J.P. Bryant and S. White and L. Rowe (Secretary).
ALSO PRESENT: A. Zuidema, J.
Braam, I. Collins, A. Dunbar, M. Hayward, C. Saunders, J. Senese, J. Stanford,
L. Stevens and B. Westlake-Power.
1.
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a) That
it BE NOTED that Councillor M. Brown disclosed a pecuniary interest in
those matters pertaining to Lorne Avenue Public School and Sherwood Forest
Public School by indicating that he is employed by the Thames Valley District
School Board.
b) That
it BE NOTED that Councillor W.J. Armstrong disclosed a pecuniary
interest in those matters pertaining to residential rental licensing by
indicating that he owns rental properties.
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2.
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2013
Budget - Public Participation Meeting
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Recommendation:
That the following presentations BE RECEIVED:
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b)
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The attached
presentation from Janice Howell, Member - Advisory Committee on the
Environment,
seeking due consideration of environmental responsibility and the legacy of
decisions that are made in setting the annual Budget, including items such as
climate change, a stormwater strategy, public transit, housing, forestation,
Hire One, accessibility, gas tax utilization, accessing green funding, etc.
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e)
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A verbal delegation
from Candace Stewardson, Youth Services, King's University College, emphasizing the
need to ensure the necessary infrastructure is in place for the disadvantaged
as the community is only as strong as its weakest player; suggesting that
eliminating neighbourhood amenities, such as splash pads, is not conducive to
ensuring a strong community, and nor is increased user fees for recreational
facilities and programs; and stating that there is a need to ensure funding
of non-profits as it is those organizations that assist the community’s most
vulnerable.
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f)
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A verbal delegation
from Courtney Vaughn and Sydney Bergeron, Transit/Environment, King's
University College,
expressing concern with budget cuts in the area of transportation as they
have a direct impact on the livability of the community; suggesting a need
for a better and smarter cycling infrastructure as there would be associated
environmental and fiscal benefits to the community, as has been proven within
various communities, such as Portland, Oregon; noting the Thames Valley
Parkway Trail System is good, but still requires improvement; and noting that
a safer cycling culture and infrastructure would improve air quality,
traffic congestion and the health and safety of cyclists.
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g)
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A verbal delegation
from Daniel Hammond and Kayla LeBlanc, Social Housing, King's
University College,
providing statistical data with respect to affordable housing; stressing the
importance of investing in a housing strategy now; citing statistics from the
City of Toronto which support the benefits of housing people rather than
having them end up in the Court system; emphasizing the need for a healthy
and reliable reserve fund to support affordable housing and the need to
maintain the City’s ongoing investment in affordable housing, including
contributions to the reserve fund.
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i)
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A verbal delegation
from Ross Graham, London, Ontario, indicating the need to shift thinking
around cycling, walking and taking the bus as these can be very affordable
options if the City is designed to support that infrastructure; stating he
does not support the cuts associated with Business Cases 32, 45 and 51 and
asking Council to take bold steps towards a connected city.
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k)
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A verbal delegation
from Patti Dalton, London and District Labour Council, acknowledging
that budgets are difficult as they have a profound social and economic
effect; challenging the false promise of a 0% increase; noting that cuts to
reserve funds are not the answer, nor is deferral, rather taxes are
necessary; and emphasizing the need to seriously study alternatives to avoid
austerity cuts and pinning the burden on social programs.
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n)
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A verbal delegation
from Graham McGeorge, London, Ontario, emphasizing the need to “pay the rent”
and social costs will escalate if we can’t pay the rent; asking that Ontario
Works recipients not be victimized by impeding their ability to pay the rent as
if they are able to continue to pay the rent they will continue their other
spending to stimulate the economy; noting that Electromotive Diesel left the
City as they couldn’t meet the wage and benefits demands, and relocated where
they were able to hire workers for half the cost; indicating that rather than
having this situation occur again, if workers can only expect to be paid half
of what they were paid, that adjustment should be made for everyone across
the City.
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o)
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A verbal delegation
from Michael Wickett, London, Ontario, indicating he bikes 2 to 4 times
per week and is able to make do with just one vehicle for his family; noting
that cycling is healthy and environmentally friendly, but there are holes in
the bikeway system and fixing these holes is important for safety and to
promote usage; and stating that the present situation is unsafe so Business
Case 32 should not be endorsed.
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p)
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A verbal delegation
from Muriel Abbott, Public Health Nurse, stating that citizens’ strengths
and assets need to be capitalized upon; noting that health is determined by
neighbourhood (e.g. income, employment, early childhood development, etc.);
noting that implementation of the Neighbourhood Hub Initiative would support
the Municipal Council’s Strategic Plan and speaking in general support of neighbourhood
hubs.
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q)
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A verbal delegation
from Erica Zarins, Public Health Nurse, speaking to Business Cases 46 and
48 related to the Library; noting that the Library is one of the most
important partnerships with the Middlesex-London Health Unit in assisting
people with accessing important health information; also noting that the
Library provides an opportunity for connectivity for seniors and for the
vulnerable population.
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r)
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A verbal delegation
from Melanie Elms, Public Health Nurse, stressing the importance of availability
of rent-geared-to-income and the sense of security and safety that is
achieved by maintaining funding levels; stressing the need for increased
stability and investment in neighbourhoods; indicating that it is important
to invest in children by providing programs that might otherwise be
unaffordable; noting that summer recreation programs also provide employment
for older youth; and expressing support for increases in taxes to support
community health and wellbeing.
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s)
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A verbal delegation
from Dr. Maria vanHarten, Dental Consultant, indicating she moved from Brampton
to London as she heard London was a great place to live; stating everyone
wants affordable opportunities to get active and the public is expecting more
discussion on the repurposing of arenas; suggesting that if some facilities
are closed it will mean that more and more after school activities will only
be available for those that can afford them, which would threaten London’s
image as being good for ALL families and the City’s ability to achieve the
goals within its Strategic Plan.
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t)
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The attached
presentation from Janette MacDonald, Executive Director, Downtown London, noting the
distinction between the Downtown Business Association and MainStreet;
indicating that information will be provided as to the amount of money that
has been leveraged from the City’s investment, which will demonstrate that
the City’s continued investment remains valid; and advising they will not be
seeking more than the 2013 Budget amount that is being recommended by the
Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee.
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u)
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A verbal delegation
from Mohamud Mohamud, African Community Council, indicating that
London is a nice place and the African Community Council is trying to build
upon that through programs to support the unique needs of African newcomers
and connect them to support services and role models; noting that their
program would reach 15 to 30 year olds in order to build capacity for
employment and provide for a smooth transition to the workforce through
one-on-one assistance, which would also serve to lower the crime rate.
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w)
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A verbal delegation
from Peter Bergmanis, London Health Coalition, raising concerns
about contracting out the management of the Dearness Home as it could create
problems by subjugating the needs of residents by profit; suggesting that
Extendicare, while international, has a more restrictive model of resource
access, including the rationing of supplies and limiting staff call-ins; and
requesting that the Municipal Council not let cost cutting negatively affect
the people component.
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y)
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A verbal delegation
from Barb Whitney, Chair, Political Action, speaking in support of maintaining
funding for the Housing Reserve Fund; noting that access to safe and
affordable housing is central to quality of life; noting that the Committee’s
recommendation to maintain funding is compassionate and prudent and that the
cost to society would be greater if permanent homes were not found.
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z)
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A verbal delegation
from Wendy Pinkerton-Knelsen, London & District Injured Workers Group, indicating that
responsibility for injured workers is being downloaded to municipalities;
noting that WSIB has become a Board of denial, leaving workers out of income,
shelter, health care, etc.; suggesting that injured workers no longer supported
by WSIB (thousands in one year) will fall into Ontario Works, which places a
burden on municipalities; indicating that there is fear of reprisal for
injured workers and that the associated human suffering in incalculable.
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ae)
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A verbal delegation from Sean Quigley,
Emerging Leaders, encouraging Municipal Council to place funding in the 2013
Budget to permit some of the proposals that came forward during the
“Investment and Economic Prosperity Proposal Assessment Process” to be
undertaken in 2013 and noting that the City of London would be providing the
wrong message to the community by not providing funding.
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af)
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The attached presentation from A.
Harrington speaking in support of a tax freeze.
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ag)
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A verbal delegation from Darren Jones,
noting that support will be sought for the repurposing of Sherwood Forest
Public School in the 2014 Budget as the community is working diligently
towards repurposing the site through a number of projects.
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ah)
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A verbal delegation from Glen Hadley,
London Middlesex Housing Corporation (LMHC) Board, pointing out that the LMHC
has done a good job of controlling expenses and reaffirming the need for a
subsidy increase.
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ai)
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A verbal delegation from Gary Brown, 99
Ridout Street, thanking the Municipal Council and staff for this year’s
Budget process; noting the process has been the largest public engagement
endeavour for a budget and the associated documentation is the best so far; suggesting
it was odd to see energy management funding removed as it is always best to
invest now for future savings and requesting clarification regarding the
amount of the 2012 surplus.
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aj)
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A verbal delegation from Jeremy Burns
indicating the importance of maintaining reserve funds as there could be a
budget bomb down the road if they are not maintained.
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The meeting adjourned at 8:28 PM.
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