Council approves 2017 budget after bickering about road renewals

City council has approved next year's budget after bickering about whether Winnipeg'sproperty-tax hike is actually dedicated to road renewals.

After fours hours of debate, council votedTuesday to approve the 2017 budget, which calls for $1.08-billion worth of spending on services and another $318 million on construction projects and equipment purchases.

That latter figure includes $105 million for road renewals, the same level of funding allocated to roads in 2016.

For weeks, Couns.Russ Wyatt (Transcona) and Ross Eadie (Mynarski) have asked whythe city continues to characterize two percentage points of its annual property tax hike as dedicated to road-renewal funding when that line item is not going up.

Mayor Brian Bowman and several members of his inner circle, including councillorsMarty Morantz (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Whyte Ridge) and Brian Mayes (St. Vital), have rejected their argument on the basis the additional money raised by the tax hike $10.9 million next year is maintaining road-renewal funding, rather than seeing it diminish.

This back-and-forth exchange led a weary Coun. Janice Lukes (South Winnipeg-St. Norbert) to decry the quality of council's debate.

"I think we've failed as council and I think we've failed in our messaging, and what that does, it breeds mistrust in the public,"Lukessaid shortly before the lunch break.

After 90 more minutes of debate in the afternoon, council voted to torpedo a Wyatt motion to increase property taxes even higher to ensure more road renewals will take place this year.

The final budget votewas 11 to five in favour, with Wyatt, Eadie, Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan), Shawn Dobson (St. Charles) and Jason Schreyer (Elmwood-East Kildonan) voting in opposition.

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Earlier in the day, ChrisLorencof the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association and LorenRemillardof the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce appeared before council to express concerns about static road-renewal funding.

This led former council finance chair Morantz to repeat Bowman's accusation that Lorenc is working with Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt to disparage the budget.

Morantzalso suggestedRemillardshould not addresscouncil about road-renewal funding if he can'trecite road-reserve figures off the top of his head.

The chamber president said all he was trying to do was seek clarity for something that has divided council.

"This is your job. If you can't all agree on it, I find it offensive that somehow I don't know more than all of you," Remillard said.

Outside the council chamber,Remillardsaid the lack of decorum on the floor of council is indicative of why people disengage with politics.

Following the council vote, Winnipeg Police Association Moe Sabourinissued a statement decrying the relatively modest increase in the Winnipeg Police Service's budget. It will increase $7 million next year, rising from $281 million to $288 million.

"Criminal activity is not a function of the inflation rate, particularly in a community facing so many challenges, from violent crime to new threats like fentanyl," Sabourin said.