According to Canadian media guru Marshall McLuhan, "the medium is the message." As much as that famous maxim may be true, around here the medians are the message, in particular the medians on Cleveland and Second avenues. After a recent storm, snowploughs left metre-high rows of the white stuff up and down the middle of both streets for the better part of three days. For local residents, the takeaway message was this could be a preview of the brave new world of municipal cutbacks.
What happened to the lofty promises in the Service Squamish Initiative? According to that document, the DOS would "exceed community expectations" by launching "a new era of exceptional leadership... superior performance... and leading-edge means and methods to deliver quality service."
Forget about all that rhetorical fluff, folks. While we're being distracted by the ongoing feel-good Squamish branding campaign, the library's children's and adult programs are about to take a hit in the new budget, as will sidewalk repairs, bike lane, park and campground maintenance, animal shelter services, and proactive bylaw enforcement patrols. In addition, district officials may soon introduce user fees for kids accessing some of the local playing fields.
Money seems to be no object when it comes to pet projects at muni hall. This municipal council topped up the bank account of a branding consultant by over $60,000 and set aside $70,000 for downtown revitalization. And let's not trigger a discussion about the mega bucks squandered on the Oceanfront development project.
There also seems to be plenty of cash available to sustain the ranks of municipal management staff. Five years ago under former Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Ramsay, the top echelons of the district's executive team were chopped from 12 to five departments and then eventually to four. It appears Ramsay's downsizing initiative is a fleeting memory these days. The notion of scaling back middle management gets little traction in the upcoming municipal budget. A recent budget summary issued by the district announced that between 2007 and 2013, the number of people living in Squamish went up by 16.22 per cent while staff increased by just under six per cent. The implication is that staffing is not keeping pace with population increases. But even if a population spike requires more operations and maintenance boots on the ground, it does not follow that the present level of municipal bureaucracy is warranted, or sustainable, in times of austerity. When it comes to community inclusion and empowerment in the budgetary process, a job description for every administrative position on the municipal payroll should be made readily available to the public and the legitimacy of all positions should be subject to review.
In the final analysis, serious questions have to be asked about how staff could be realigned to save tax dollars.
