West End Library could bear legacy of late councillor Harvey Smith
CBC News | Posted: June 8, 2017 11:58 PM | Last Updated: June 8, 2017
Winnipeg may rename library after the long-serving councillor, who died in March
The City of Winnipeg may rename the West End Library after former councillor Harvey Smith.
The longtime West End resident, who died in March, spent 22 years as a city councillor. Council's protection, community services and parks committee will consider a motion on Monday to add Smith's name to the West End Library.
The motion is supported by former Canadian Union of Public Employees leader Paul Moist, a longtime friend of Smith who spoke on behalf of the late councillor following his death.
While Moist initially mused Smith may not have wanted the city to name anything after him, he said his friend was passionate about libraries.
"Harvey worked hard to relocate the former West End Library Branch from Ellice Avenue to its new location as part of the Cindy Klassen Recreation Centre," Moist noted in his letter to the city.
"This has been a very successful rebirth for the West End Library which today is one of the city's busiest branches."
No Winnipeg Transit cuts this year
Winnipeg Transit service won't be cut this year even though the utility is facing a $5.1-million budget shortfall, city council's finance chair pledged Thursday.
Last week, Winnipeg finance officials revealed Winnipeg is facing a $6.3-million budget shortfall due to the province's cancellation of long-standing deals to cover inflationary increases to the cost of operating Winnipeg Transit, the police helicopter and the auxiliary police cadets.
Transit alone faced a $5.1-million shortfall.
On Thursday, council finance chair Scott Gillingham (St. James-Brooklands-Weston) pledged the city will fill the hole with funding from somewhere else in the city budget.
Also last week, finance officials disclosed transit is putting off the purchase of two new buses to help fill a separate, $9.5-million budget shortfall.
That shortfall was left by last year's assumption that it would be safe for the city to transfer surplus snow-clearing funds from the 2016 budget to this year's spending blueprint.
That assumption proved to be a poor bet in December, when heavy snowfalls ate up that surplus.