Wednesday's council agenda: A deal for police, more time for scrutiny, less school-zone enforcement
Bartley Kives | CBC News | Posted: June 21, 2017 10:00 AM | Last Updated: June 21, 2017
4 things to follow at the June Winnipeg city council meeting
To the late Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, "June trembled like a butterfly."
For Winnipeg's city council, it lurched along like a cankerworm. Here are four issues council will deal with at Wednesday's monthly meeting, where legislation proposed over the past month is either approved or denied:
1. A new deal for police
On Monday, the 1,968-member Winnipeg Police Association ratified a new five-year collective bargaining agreement. Council will consider the deal Wednesday.
- Police-union contract calls for civilians and cadets to take over more work from officers in uniform
The agreement calls for two annual wage hikes of approximately 2.5 per cent, followed by three hikes at around 1.6 per cent. But the deal is more notable for allowing the civilianization of several aspects of the police service, including civilian staffing of the central processing and report-reading units at the downtown police headquarters.
Council is expected to approve the deal, even though members will have had less than a day consider its contents. And speaking of an absence of notice ...
2. More timely information
When Coun. Janice Lukes was a member of the mayor's inner circle, she had access to information she no longer has. At least that's what the South Winnipeg-St. Norbert councillor complains now that she has been punted to the municipal equivalent of the council backbench.
The vocal member of council's unofficial opposition tried and failed to convince council to compel senior officials to brief all members about reports.
So now, she's made another motion to change the city's procedure bylaw to require four business days of public scrutiny to elapse before any committee or council agenda item goes to a vote.
Ironically, the actual debate over this measure will likely happen in July, due to the mandatory one-month notice granted for general motions.
3. Less speed-zone enforcement
St. Charles Coun. Shawn Dobson wants the city to stop enforcing school-zone speed limits on holidays. Council's public works committee, as well as Mayor Brian Bowman's inner circle, don't want to change a thing about the 30-kilometre per hour speed limit near schools.
Today, city council as a whole will have their say on the future of a traffic-enforcement measure Dobson calls a cash grab but others consider too lenient. Coun. Lukes, for one, would like to see speed zones enforced around schools 365 days a year.
4. An honour for Harvey Smith
Former city councillor Harvey Smith, who spent 22 years at city hall, didn't leave behind much in the way of family when he died in March. City council is about to provide him with a legacy.
In what's bound to be a unanimous vote, council will reconsider renaming the West End Library the Harvey Smith Library. Councillors say it's a fitting tribute for an inner-city councillor who lobbied hard to improve the West End amenity.