Criminals don’t carry ward boundaries maps

I understand what Councillor Russ Wyatt is getting at with his motion to increase police presence in the suburbs. However, the demand that ”Council establish a policy that clearly states, without exception, that the WPS will be required to maintain a minimum of one police cruiser car on duty in every one of Winnipeg’s 15 Wards at all times” is simply unrealistic.

Criminals aren’t familiar with ward boundaries, and I doubt most officers are either. The WPS is set up to provide service based on four districts (well they’re working toward that, currently it’s actually five districts), not 15 wards. Police aren’t going to abandon a pursuit just because they hit the border between Point Douglas and Mynarski. And it would be ridiculous for a cruiser car to circle around North Kildonan when it could assist with multiple calls in Transcona.

I agree with Wyatt’s statement that “if the city can find money for a police helicopter, it can find money for more cruiser cars.” But if he truly has mayoral aspirations, then he’s going to have to approach issues such as law enforcement with a city-wide focus and not just act like a parochial suburban councillor.

Thin edge of the wedge for garbage fees? Wishful thinking.

The civic administration is recommending that homeowners who don’t think a 240 litre garbage cart is large enough be given the option of using a second cart or a larger cart for a modest annual fee.

Seems like a reasonable plan to me, but I’m kind of wondering why the administration didn’t go all out in pursuing a user-pay system in the first place. With the new automated carts, such a system would be far easier to administer than previous proposals for per-bag charges.

Give homeowners a choice of cart sizes (S/M/L) depending on how much waste they produce in a given week, and establish an annual solid waste utility fee based on the cart size. The larger the cart, the larger the fee.

This isn’t cutting edge stuff, as similar models are in place across North America. For example, Vancouver charges anywhere from $89 to $194 annually depending on the cart size. Toronto charges about $250 for a medium sized cart. Minneapolis charges $2/month for a small cart, $4/month for a large cart.

Why charge at all? Because it’s responsible from both an environmental (encouraging waste reduction) and economic (pay for what you use) perspective. And if the City wanted it could make the whole initiative revenue neutral by implementing a corresponding reduction in property taxes. Or it could direct a portion of the extra revenue toward other green services or infrastructure.

Of course the same people who’ve been bitching about the new cart service would probably crash the CJOB call-in lines with complaints about user fees. So for such a system to work we’d need City Councillors to have some foresight and courage of their convictions.

In other words, never mind.

Two unfortunate emails, and a few missing ones

No question that sending a “Terry Duguid for Winnipeg South” related message from an International Centre for Infectious Diseases (ICID) email account was a boneheaded move on the part of communications consultant/Liberal organizer Dougald Lamont. The timing couldn’t have been worse, as it came the same day the Freep ran a column criticizing Vic Toews for meddling with Duguid and the ICID.

And what the hell is the ICID doing hiring a Duguid campaign worker in the first place? That’s just dangling meat in front of the hungry conservative conspiracy theorists. However, the email appears to have been a dumb but honest mistake, and Lamont immediately resigned from his part-time contract with the ICID.

That was a responsible thing to do, in sharp contrast to this reaction from Toews:

I was somewhat dismayed to see that this non-partisan, scientific organization had apparently chosen to enter the political fray by issuing a news release on behalf of the official opposition. It seemed inconsistent with the very noble pursuit of science. Science is about neutral fact-finding and, in this case, the critical health and safety of Canadians. I would be disappointed if this entire episode serves to suggest to the Canadian public that there is another partisan agenda at play.

You’d be “disappointed” if the public were to think a partisan agenda was at play…even though you made that very accusation in the first line???

Come on Vic, that’s complete crap. And when you take advantage of one person’s mistake to score petty political points at the expense of an entire organization, well it’s no wonder that people are questioning how hard you fought for your home province on the vaccine lab file. Of course this isn’t even the first time this week that you’ve jumped on an email hiccup to blast an opponent, is it?

And while Vic’s Blackberry is covered in thumbprints and spittle, those of Premier Selinger and Mayor Katz have been surprisingly inactive.

An $88 million trial production facility that would draw researchers from around the world and go a long way toward achieving the much ballyhooed vision of “BioMed City.” You’d think that would be be something the Premier and Mayor might get a little excited about, right? Apparently not. Maybe if it included a waterpark or an empty patch of boreal forest.

If this project has been cancelled on its own lack of merit, then fine. But if it’s been shelved due to game playing, regional politics or a complete lack of vision, then our local leaders need to start making some noise. [Remember the CF-18! Or Trans-Canada Airlines! Or AECL!]

Mayorin’ ain’t easy

It’s been nearly a week now, and I still don’t understand. I’ve talked to people who were there, or who watched it on video, and I still don’t understand. I’ve spoken to people who are fans, and people who are actively working to get rid of him, and I still don’t understand.

Just what was the point of Mayor Sam Katz’s State of the City speech last Tuesday?

The Good

To be fair, the speech did include a few positive points:

• The Mayor is holding firm to his position that spending $350 million to remove nitrogen from wastewater would be complete folly. He’s correct.
• “The City should not be in the parking business.” Sam talked about replacing surface lots with parkades, and ensuring that new parking projects support residential development downtown. No details, but the idea is right.
• More downtown housing. The City has had a multi-family housing tax credit in place for some time now, but the Province is dragging its feet on approving the tax increment financing scheme. However, he did say progress was being made on that front.
• Performance reviews for all managers, including the CAO. Not that I think this is going to be the birth of merit-based pay or anything, but theoretically this is a good idea.

The Bad

Almost every time I’ve eaten at the Convention Centre it’s been chicken stuffed with something. It’s to the point that I joke about it whenever I have to attend one of these events. So when I cut into my bird last Tuesday and discovered there was nothing inside, I should have recognized it as a harbinger of things to come.

To be blunt, the Mayor’s address lacked some stuffing. Sure it had the obligatory recap of past accomplishments, and brief references to the priorities I mentioned above, but there were no new promises or announcements. A bit surprising when you have the undivided attention of nearly every significant business and political player in town, and oh, it’s an election year by the way.

Some media outlets still called it a “campaign-style speech,” mostly due to the Mayor’s tough talk for groups like the NDP and the Winnipeg Citizens Coalition. But to me, a true campaign-style speech outlines a vision for the future and gives people something to rally behind. With that in mind, I’m not sure what the takeaway was supposed to be for this audience.

Bonus bad item: He remains committed to a “world-class” waterpark rather than simply building better aquatic facilities.

The Strange

Curtis and the Sun’s Kevin Engstrom already knocked the whole “I’m not going to let any political party take over City Hall” thing, so I’ll leave that alone.

But that wasn’t the strangest part. As mentioned in several reports, the Mayor went off script toward the end of his remarks. He spoke about how difficult public life can be at times, specifically mentioning media coverage of his divorce a few years ago. He looked very emotional, almost on the verge of tears at one point.

Look, I have no doubt that he has one of the hardest jobs in the city. No matter what you do, someone is always going to criticize you, and people are going to take personal shots because they don’t agree with your politics. On top of that, you have the media — well, Bart Kives and Julie Bell anyway — watching your every move.

And while some would say that all comes with the territory, I think the criticism can sometimes be completely unwarranted and sleazy. The Mayor (or any other political leader) deserves to be held to account, but there’s clearly a difference between complaining about secrecy at City Hall and gossiping about the man’s personal life or comparing him to Hitler.

That said, I have absolutely no idea what the point of this public venting was all about. While he was speaking off-the-cuff, the whole thing was obviously deliberate. So was this a lesson for people thinking about running for office? A warning to his opponents that he’s not backing down despite the mudslinging? Or have the critics finally got to him, and he just needed to get that all off his chest?

Again, I’m not sure what the takeaway was supposed to be, but the words I heard most frequently afterwards were “weird” and “uncomfortable” (something Brodbeck agreed with). Not the impression I’d want to leave from such a high profile event in front of a high powered crowd.

Winnipeg, where 1.5 is more than 4

I’m confused (as per usual). The Mayor claims a 1% property tax increase wouldn’t be worth it because it would only raise $4 million per year in additional revenue, so taxes will remain frozen in 2010.  And I’m sure that will get plenty of the suits clapping at the Chamber’s State of the City luncheon tomorrow.

But if $4 million isn’t worth it, then why is Council continuing to pursue its Sponsor Winnipeg program? After all, that initiative is only budgeted to raise a paltry $1.5 million this year.

The obvious argument is that a property tax increase is mandatory while sponsorship is voluntary. True, but there are certainly additional costs associated with sponsorship, either directly through administration of the program (which has already cost several hundred thousand) or indirectly through making our city a less attractive place. [Sorry NASCAR fans, "logos logos everywhere!" isn't my idea of quality design.]

It’s not that I’m crazy about property taxes. I think they’re an ineffective form of taxation and like other homeowners I’d rather hang on to my own money. And I agree completely with the Mayor that the Province should replace its current hodge-podge of program-specific grants with a fixed share of the PST. Not only would that be fair, it would also give the City some level of certainty around provincial funding levels when developing its budget.

But if you give me the choice between a small tax bump or having to take my kid down to the Arby’s Bus Stop, to hop on the Pepsi Shuttle, to pass through the Duraco Windows Atrium on our way into McDonald’s Funland (formerly known as the Pan Am Pool)…well I’d gladly fork over the extra $5 instead.

I actually do think that a politically-acceptable case could be made for a property tax increase if Council was able to tell citizens exactly where it planned to spend the new money. Pick a city-wide priority, and a specific timeframe, and design a long-term investment strategy built on a modest tax bump.  A ten-year $40 million rebuilding program for community centres, an $80 million plan to renovate parks, or a $120 million scheme for road renewal. Make it incremental to whatever you would have spent on those areas in the first place. Maybe even get the Province — which has been pressuring the City to increase taxes — to agree to match this funding dollar-for-dollar. Ceremonial sod-turning shovels for everyone!

Do I think there’s a chance of this happening? Nope. Not now at least. 2010 is both an election year and a property reassessment year, so there’s already going to be plenty of attention on property taxes. But if  Mayor Katz is re-elected in October, well then it’s a whole new ball game for his final term.

Twitter it, just a little bit

Oh look, I’m on the Twitter. I start up the same day as Bill Gates. He has 100,000 followers, I have one (Thanks @ChrisDca!). I’ve got some catching up to do. Unless I get bored and park this thing in a week.

Check out the random thoughts that aren’t quite worthy of a blog post by following @policyfrog or see the latest on that sidebar to the right.

Shake your foundations?

Now that Lyle Bauer has not only left the Bombers, but joined a competing franchise, I’m wondering what the team plans to do with the Never Alone Foundation.

The Foundation started as Bauer’s personal fundraising crusade during his battle with throat cancer, but quickly became the team’s primary charitable cause. Socials, luncheons, fishing derbies and lotteries were held, and even blue wristbands were sold for people to show their support. Bauer was the face of the Foundation, and it operated out of the Bomber offices on Maroons Road.

And while helping people fight cancer is certainly an admirable goal — like most, I have many friends and relatives who have been impacted by the disease — from a marketing perspective it’s never really made sense to me for the Bombers to devote so much of their community relations efforts to the disease.

So, with Bauer’s departure comes an opportunity to shake things up a bit. And while I doubt the team will drop the Never Alone Foundation altogether, it should take a look at strengthening its links to youth and community recreation. This would make particular sense if David Asper’s stadium/recreation complex project at the U of M ever gets off the ground.

Just one possible idea? How about a 3-way partnership with the Bombers, the City of Winnipeg and a company like Canadian Tire or Home Depot to rehabilitate athletic fields and outdoor rinks throughout the city. The retailer provides the supplies and expertise, the Bombers and community members contribute the sweat equity, and the City gets to chalk up a win for its sponsorship program. Do it for the children!

UPDATE: The Free Press follows up on this today and confirms that the team will be cutting ties with the Foundation.

The secret world of the Winnipeg School Division

Freep Education Reporter Nick Martin blogged today about why he’s stopped attending Winnipeg School Division meetings. In a nutshell, the Board of Trustees doesn’t like the spotlight and shares as little as possible with the public, so attending meetings is a pointless exercise.

Secrecy prevails in WSD. Find another public body which implements the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act more vigorously.

Agendas aren’t published in advance. Meeting minutes contain a bare minimum of detail. Correspondence and reports aren’t made available to the public. Board members are discouraged from talking to the media. All the big decisions are made behind closed doors. (Deliberations about the Gordon Bell High School playing field for example)

As a result, no one knows who their school trustees are, what the division’s budget is being spent on, or what decisions are being made that impact students or property owning taxpayers.

The good news is that addressing the problem really wouldn’t be difficult or expensive. Yes, a couple of policies would need to be rewritten, and Division employees might have to do a smidgen extra work, but it’s more of an attitude adjustment than anything else. Here’s just a few suggestions on how to democratize the WSD:

• Similar to the City of Winnipeg, post agendas for Board meetings online at 96 hours in advance, and include copies of all relevant reports and correspondence.
• Allow members of the public to register to speak to the Board until 12:00 noon on the day of a meeting.
• Post a copy of the Division’s detailed budget on its website. Make budget information for individual schools available online as well, following the example of the Edmonton Public School Board.
• Redesign the Division website to improve communication.
• Live stream Board meetings online, or make them available via YouTube or podcast. Heck, an enterprising trustee could do this directly by firing up Ustream on a laptop or iPhone.
• Schedule meetings so that all in-camera business takes place at the end of the agenda. The Board should only go behind closed doors when absolutely necessary.
• Free trustees from the threat of a public haranguing if they talk to the media about Board business. Or perhaps trustees should develop a little backbone and remember they’re working for their constituents, not their fellow trustees.

Now if some of that advice sounds a bit familiar, then you pay a lot closer attention to school division by-elections than the average person.

Attack of the drones

The Freep’s Bart Kives tweeted a link to the following video yesterday, which presents an interesting alternative to a police helicopter: the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

Already popular with the military and border patrol agencies, UAVs have attracted the attention of police services around the world who see them as a low-cost, highly efficient option for surveillance and pursuit operations. In addition to Houston, Los Angeles and Miami have run tests in recent years. The State Police Commissioner in Queensland, Australia is keen on the technology. The British city of Merseyside already has one in action, and the British Home Office is considering rolling them out nationwide.

Even Saskatoon experimented with a similar craft last summer, although that was only used for aerial shots of crime and accident scenes. And cities like Indianapolis and Atlanta have tested unmanned blimps that are equipped with state-of-the-art video equipment and infrared sensors.

While these systems aren’t capable of doing everything a helicopter can (rescuing people from tall buildings, flying politicians around for photo ops), they do cost a fraction as much to purchase and operate. For the amount of money the Winnipeg Police Service is budgeting for its proposed helicopter unit, it could have a fleet of UAVs in the air 24 hours per day.

So, is the City looking to make a massive investment in 1970s’ technology (the helicopter) just as UAVs are on the cusp of becoming a major crimefighting tool? Too bad that wasn’t addressed in the chopper report.

UPDATE: Bart has a bit more on drones in Monday’s paper.

Now that’s a bit cheeky

Spotted this banner ad on the recently revamped Free Press website earlier today:

While the wink makes it clear this is in good fun, I’m not sure the folks at CBC, CJOB, CTV, Global and the Sun — all of whom the Freep has been publicly and privately scrapping with over the past several months on the “original reporting” issue — will take it that way.

So what do you say competing media outlets? Gently poking you in the ribs, or deliberately pushing your buttons?

[BTW, I really do like the site redesign. Much cleaner.]