After the theatrics leading up City of Powell River’s finance committee meeting on February 22, the play did not deliver the hype councillor CaroleAnn Leishman staged on social media in the days leading up to it.
Leishman posted a video on Facebook railing against Powell River Recreation Complex bearing all of the brunt of the current 2018 budget shortfall of approximately $190,000 through cuts to staff and services.
At the end of the day, the complex was saved with the committee directing city chief administrative officer Mac Fraser to work with heads of all city departments to review their budgets and cut, including recreation, to the chagrin of Leishman.
Only two items were on the list of nine changes to service levels at the complex she said she could tolerate, and those were $12,000 for staff training and $7,500 for fitness room staffing.
“If they were minimal reductions like that I could stomach them, but anything above reducing service or closing the theatre or closing anything like that I will not stand behind,” said Leishman.
She added she would support a one per cent tax increase above the two per cent cost of living increase the city is trying to hold to this year in order to protect the community services provided by the complex.
“My posts raised a lot of awareness with people who really aren't aware of anything to do with the city's budget and how much it takes to run the recreation complex,” said Leishman.
It takes approximately $2.3 million to run the facility, according to finance committee chair Russell Brewer.
When the committee turned its attention to interim chief financial officer Debra Oakman’s budget report, Leishman produced a prop; a “swear jar,” indicating she was prepared to use profanity in emphasizing her position.
“It was set up as a contentious meeting, but the committee hadn't even had a chance to meet to consider the recommendations,” said Brewer. “It wasn’t as contentious as some might have anticipated it to be.”
Regardless of what some anticipated would be a meeting filled with fireworks, Brewer said no one wanted to see significant cuts to the complex.
“We were going to end up landing on trying to seek reductions across all departments anyway,” he said. “There are other ideas out there for where cuts could come from.”
Recreation is one of the largest city departments and the complex serves a central role in Powell River but, similar to other governments at every level being squeezed by ever-tightening finances, the first services to go are often for enjoyment and not essential, said Brewer.
“It always seems the easier sectors get targeted for cuts,” said Brewer. “It's seen as extra; recreation parks and culture are seen as not core services. It's pretty clear now that it’s an essential service. I view it as an essential service just like transit, but there is a philosophy out there that we should be focused on strictly core services and the interpretation of that is roads, water and sewer.”
Leishman championed the recreation complex because, in large part, it is a very personal issue.
“I grew up in that complex. I spend a lot of time in that facility on a regular basis,” she said. “I can't say that about a lot of other elected officials. I don't see many of the others there on a regular basis, so I don't know what their involvement is in the facility, but I actually do use the facility regularly.”
The city has managed to bring down the budget shortfall from the $638,000 reported on January 25 to the $190,000 currently remaining unfunded, according to Oakman, primarily through expected community works funding from Union of BC Municipalities.
“We gave them a list of capital projects and a complex study that would be considered operational and they indicated everything we submitted would be eligible for funding,” said Oakman. “Council considered all of those items and approved applying the community works funds.”
Oakman will present her next report at the finance committee meeting on March 22.
“I am very confident,” said Leishman, “that it will be a good outcome.”
