City of Winnipeg budget tweaked to include public washroom funds, active transportation reporting

Mayor Brian Bowman's inner circle sent the City of Winnipeg's preliminary budget to council largely unchanged, but with some small tweaks to address priorities of councillors and community delegates.

Changes to the $1.195 billion budget include shuffling around $50,000 to fund the maintenance and operations of new public washrooms, funding for new spray pads in Whyte Ridge and The Maples, and an order for the public service to report on efforts to access federal funding for trees.

"Part of what these amendments reflect is the effort to work with all councillors," said Coun. Scott Gillingham, chair of the city's finance committee, after the executive policy commmittee meeting.

"These amendments reflect the fact that we're trying to work with our council colleagues, both those on the executive policy committee and those not on executive policy committee."

City council will vote on the entire budget and any amendments at a meeting on Wednesday.

The executive policy committee added a requirement that the public service report back to council any time an active transportation project can't be completed along with a road renewal or rehabilitation. 

City policy requires that active transportation facilities be included whenever a street that is part of the city's active transportation strategy is rebuilt, but those facilities are sometimes scrapped due to issues that arise once construction starts.

If that happens, the public service must now come back to council with an alternative plan or a request for more funding, Gillingham said.

Bowman, speaking at a news conference after the meeting, said challenges arise with projects due to existing infrastructure.

"There's just increasing scrutiny and increasing demands of council to do more for active transportation, and we want to make sure that the reporting throughout the year is just more proactive," Bowman said.

One change was made as a result of presentations from delegates at EPC's open meeting on Friday. 

Advocates for preserving Winnipeg's urban canopy questioned whether the city was spending enough to save mature trees and plant new ones. The committee added a requirement for the public service to report quarterly on efforts to access federal funding, such as the 2 Billion Trees Program, which will begin taking applications soon. 

"This budget amendment really places the onus on us to demonstrate that we're leveraging contributions for Winnipeg's urban canopy," Coun. Sherri Rollins told the committee.

The draft police budget, including a requirement that the Winnipeg Police Service find more than $9 million in annual savings, was referred to full council. 

Earlier this month, the Winnipeg Police Board passed the $320-million police budget, with a warning that there are risks associated with trying to meet the $9-million savings target.

The police budget will rise $7 million next year, but police sought a larger increase.

"We have, under this mayor, increased funding," Coun. Brian Mayes, who sits on the police board, told the committee.

"We have, however, reduced the acceleration rate quite dramatically. So the bigger increases we used to see, the arc has been flattened over time."

A $58,000 pilot project to provide free menstrual products in select city facilities will be funded using existing resources. 

"I do see the benefit and I think the pilot is something that should be supported," Bowman said during a news conference after the meeting. 

"The hope and expectation is that, as a result of the pilot, that those products would be made available throughout city facilities."

The budget maintains the 2.33 per cent property tax increase — the same amount it has increased each year during Bowman's term. This year's increase will cost the average homeowner about $43.