Arts and downtown BIZ organizations push back against city budget

The tight fiscal budget delivered last Friday has representatives from arts and downtown organizations warning the moves will makeit more difficult for Winnipegto attract or keep young, smart workers.

Those comments were made to councillors on the city's property, planning and development committee Wednesday as part of the budget process.

"If we want to lose what we have and attract less, we can just continue the way we are going," said Exchange District BIZdirector David Pensato.

If the budget remains as presented last week, funding for improvements to the city's downtown will drop or disappear in some years, money for public art will disappearentirely and cash to keep the city's core clean will remain flat.

Funding for public art drops to $200,000 in 2020 and is cut entirely after that year. Money for downtown enhancements is cut to zero next year when its $200,000 allocation is trimmed away.

At the same time, critics say, the city has not reduced parking rates, which stakeholders had hoped would be in the budget to encourage more people to come to the downtown.

The Winnipeg Arts Council will see 10 per cent of its budget,nearly $500,000,cut in 2020.

Councillors on the property and planning committee were told slashing the public arts budget will impact how the city looks and tells its own stories.

"We can work miracles with not much," said Carol Phillips, the director of the Winnipeg Arts Council. "It's about making our city the wonderful place it is ... it tells Winnipeg stories."

The figures are modestin the context of a city budget in excess of a billion dollars, but downtown stakeholders say Winnipeg isn't keeping up to other cities in making its downtown livable and attractive.

"When we are looking at attracting major businesses when we have Skip the Dishes, when we have Bold Commerce they need to attract more talent. We are growing to a million people and it is not all going to come from within Winnipeg," said KateFenskewith the Downtown BIZ.

Paid parking for all

Fenske joined withPensatoin calling on the city to review itsparking strategy across Winnipeg.

Both organizations had hoped for a reduction in parking rates to encourage traffic into the downtown. The budget keeps the hourly rates frozen.

Both BIZdirectors believe the cityshould look at charging parking fees in commercial areas in other parts of the city.

"People resent paying for parking on streetswhen they don't pay for it anywhere else," Pensato told councillors.

The two BIZgroups hope the city will consider taking a portion of the revenue from parking for improvements in the areas they are collected.

Roads, roads, roads

Waverley West Coun. Janice Lukeslistened to the arts and downtown organizations' pleas and summed up where the city's priorities lie in a word roads.

"This is the Winnipeg we are building $1.4 billion inroads," Lukes said.

The city is budgeting for $1.4 billion inroad improvements by 2025, leaving few dollars left for other programming and a 10 per centcutto community groups across the board.

"There is an argument, and I rather support it, that I think we have an imbalance in how we are funding roads versus community services [and] quality of life items," Lukes told reporters after the committee meeting.

Property, planning and development committeechair Brian Mayes was unconvinced by the arguments made to restore the funding, saying that businesses typically want taxes cut but then ask for more improvements and services.

"Maybe we are behind other citieson some things and we are ahead on some other things," the St. Vital councillor said.

The committee voted to pass all the recommendations in the budget. Those will now be considered at a meeting of executive policy committee before going in front of city council on March 25.