The 91原创 Taxpayers鈥� Federation has come down hard on Victoria city council in its 鈥渘aughty or nice鈥� list, calling it 鈥渁 group that lurched from one mistake to another,鈥� and recommending it get a lump of coal for Christmas.
鈥淚t was another tough year for taxpayers, and that means Santa鈥檚 sleigh will be weighed down with coal for various politicians and governments,鈥� said Jordan Bateman, B.C. director of the federation. 鈥淗opefully, next year these leaders make St. Nick鈥檚 job a little easier by lightening our tax load 鈥� and his sleigh.鈥�
We鈥檙e all for holding governments accountable and we support the right 鈥� of all citizens, not just the media 鈥� to criticize when criticism is warranted. But we should be just as ready to compliment when praise is due.
Labelling someone 鈥渘aughty鈥� or 鈥渘ice鈥� is unfair and simplistic 鈥� it ignores the broad spectrum that has perfect success at one end and abject failure at the other. Like most of us, city councils will go through a year with some worthwhile achievements and some lamentable mistakes, with a mixture of good decisions and 鈥� in hindsight anyway 鈥� poor judgment. There isn鈥檛 a sharp line that divides the achievers from the losers.
The federation鈥檚 focus is taxes, and it can find plenty of reasons to be concerned about what has been happening in Victoria. It cites the Johnson Street Bridge replacement project, years late and massively over-budget, as an example of the mishandling of public resources.
Hard to argue with that one, but it鈥檚 a mess the current council inherited.
Then Victoria gets a spanking for partnering in the Seaterra debacle. While there鈥檚 no question taxpayers have taken a beating on the sewage-treatment project 鈥� and the floggings are far from over 鈥� it鈥檚 unfair to single out Victoria, only one of seven municipalities involved.
If you want to blame someone, blame Esquimalt. The township first approved the sewage-treatment plant at McLoughlin Point, then backtracked, using a minor zoning-change application as an opportunity to put the kibosh on a sensible site. That setback comes with a price tag approaching $100 million.
We agree with the federation that installing interactive musical handrails in a parkade sounds like a silly move, but the few thousand dollars involved in that venture seems hardly worth mentioning in the light of decisions that involve hundreds of millions of dollars.
It hasn鈥檛 been an easy year for city council, but progress has been made. Parking is always a thorny problem for any city, but Victoria has done commendable work in making parking more convenient in the downtown area.
The city has taken a pragmatic approach to another difficult issue 鈥� the distribution of marijuana, medical and otherwise.
Victoria has been open to growth, recognizing the need for more rental housing. The city has been proactive on various aboriginal issues, including a proposal to return the top of Beacon Hill to First Nations. It has set limits on tax increases and has stayed within those limits.
Victoria鈥檚 city government has allowed the homeless segment of the population to dominate too much of the agenda, but has done so out of compassion, and because other levels of government have abdicated their responsibilities in that regard.
There鈥檚 little chance Victoria city council 鈥� or any other elected body 鈥� will ever be on everyone鈥檚 鈥渘ice鈥� list. No matter what decision is made, someone will always be unhappy with it.
It鈥檚 a tough road to navigate, and we salute those who try.
