Updated: Everything from pursuing amalgamation to  cutting “luxury” projects such as Beacon Hill Park traffic calming should be considered as Victoria looks to keep a lid on tax increases, say almost 200 residents consulted by Coun. Lisa Helps.
Helps heard from 185 people during five public budget workshops she held between July and October.
“I think the principles are really good,” Helps said.
Helps said suggestions to integrate the department of sustainability into existing departments is sound, and making the communications department part of the city manager’s office rather having it as a standalone unit is a good idea.
While residents suggested selling the conference Centre, Helps notes the city does not own it. It is, however, responsible for hard costs such as an estimated $20 million in seismic upgrading, she said. The centre also operates at a loss.
Helps believes the arrangement should be reviewed as the centre represents not only an operating liability, but a capital one as well.
Even though council has recently released proposals to pare about $1.6 million from city expenditures through measures such as freezing management salaries, automating parkades and limiting police and library budget increases, people participating in Helps’s workshops have suggested deeper cuts.
 Among the suggestions:
-- Sell off the conference centre, Royal Athletic Park and Crystal Pool or have an external review to cut losses by at least 50 per cent.
-- Cap/freeze council and management salaries at city hall and police.
-- Share premises for essential services (fire hall or library and swimming pool).
-- Cut back on “luxury” projects such as Beacon Hill Park traffic calming and Pandora street-scaping and concentrate on core essentials.
-- Pursue regional amalgamation.
Helps was intrigued with some of the ideas for infrastructure — especially the aging Crystal Pool.
“One of the most interesting suggestions is to rebuild Crystal Pool and the firehall together and/or Crystal Pool, the library and the firehall. Why not?”
If the proposed cost-cutting measures are implemented, the city will meet its target for 2013 but will still need to shave another $3 million from the budget over the next two years to meet the 3.25 per cent cap on property tax increases in 2014 and 2015.
Both Helps and Coun. Shellie Gudgeon hope an organizational review now underway will bear fruit.
“We have to find a way to find efficiencies,” Gudgeon said.
“If we cannot dramatically reduce costs at the city of Victoria, we have to look at regionalization in some form.”
The city now plans to conduct its own budget-information sessions in order to get public feedback.
Helps said the upcoming budget consultation is extremely important.
“This public engagement, even though it doesn’t go as far as I would like, it’s a very good start for all of January to be doing information/consultation sessions asking people: What do you think?” she said.
bcleverley@timescolonist.com
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RESIDENTS’ ADVICE: Sell facilities, cut salaries, cut jobs
Victoria Coun. Lisa Helps heard from 185 people during five public budget workshops.
Among the suggestions they made were:
-- Sell off Victoria Conference Centre, Royal Athletic Park and Crystal Pool or have an external review to cut losses by at least 50 per cent.
-- Reduce the number of high-paid city directors.
-- Cap/freeze council and management salaries at city hall and police.
-- Cut back the communications department and integrate the sustainability department into other departments.
-- Amalgamate emergency services; cut the police budget to 17 per cent of city spending from 34 per cent.
-- Cut back “luxury” projects such as Beacon Hill Park traffic calming and Pandora street-scaping; concentrate on core essentials.
-- Spend less on external consultants and improve internal liaison.
-- Close downtown bars earlier to avoid police costs or tax downtown businesses more.
-- Pursue regional amalgamation.
-- Review tax exemptions for moneymaking organizations.
-- Assess a fee for cruise ships and harbour landings.
-- Have an effective advocacy program for more provincial funding.
-- Share premises for essential services (fire hall or library and swimming pool).

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