The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
At what point will Flin Flon's declining population begin to reflect itself in city council and school board expenditures? It's a fair question to ask. Since the early 1990s, our city (Manitoba and Saskatchewan portions combined) has lost 22 per cent of its population and 41 per cent of its student body. That's 1,613 people, including 743 pupils. Yet year after year, municipal and educational spending rises. On Tuesday the school board green-lit a new budget that boosts expenses from $11.9 million this current academic year to $12.4 million the next. (Thanks to a provincial grant, the board is not seeking additional dollars vis--vis property taxation). City council has not finalized their 2010 budget yet, but it will come as a complete shock if they spend less than, or even the same as, last year. In 2009, the municipal budget went from $9.87 million to $9.96 million. In fairness, even before the budgeting process begins, the lion's share of available funds is already accounted for in the form of staff salaries and benefits. Without trimming jobs (and it would take quite a few cuts to dent either budget), there is not a great deal of financial wiggle room through which councillors and trustees may maneuver. Besides, the school board has been gradually eliminating teaching positions over the years in recognition of the dwindling student population. City council is in a slightly different boat. Whether Flin Flon has 8,800 people or 5,800, the same road and piping infrastructure must be sustained. You still need lifeguards at the Aqua Centre, janitors at the Community Hall, and so on. Neither the school board nor city council should get a free pass in this regard, though. If our trustees or councillors see any opportunity to cut back while still delivering adequate services, then they must certainly take it. At the same time, we, the people, are the government. If we collectively feel that we can no longer afford (or even want) particular services now provided by our schools or municipality, then it is up to us to tell those who represent us and to vote for candidates who share our views. Trustees and councillors can perhaps most easily hold the line on spending when it comes to capital projects. There is much inter-departmental consultation on such projects. But other than sparsely attended forums held after the budgets are already in a vote-ready format, how much solid input is gleaned from the public? Few citizens I have talked to supported city council's surprise 2007 pledge to force water meters on every homeowner in Flin Flon. Those who were in favour were green-minded folks eager to use the levers of government to limit exorbitant water consumption. No one can reasonably argue against responsible water consumption. But really, considering all of the challenges facing Flin Flon at this crucial time, should these types of warm and fuzzy ideals be anywhere near the top of the priority list? Fortunately the meters never came to pass, and those vital dollars can now be spent much more wisely on other projects Ð such as ensuring that our drinking water, un-metered as it may be, meets provincial health standards. The point here is not to pick apart past budgetary decisions, but to affirm that the trend we are on is finite. Our elected officials cannot keep asking fewer and fewer people to foot bigger and bigger bills. If Flin Flon's population does not increase, there will inevitably come a breaking point. And with this being an election year, it does not hurt to remind our councillors and trustees of that. Local Angle runs Fridays.
