• By On 5 December 2020 In Blog

    A Just Recovery 2021 Budget

    City Budgets are important documents. But life is busy, and lots of residents don’t have the time to really dig into them. So here are some highlights from Vancouver’s proposed 2021 budget. 👇🏽

    Vancouver’s 2021 budget will be tough. COVID has placed enormous pressure on our finances, including decreased revenue & increased expenses to serve those most impacted by the pandemic.

    Because of this, even with a 5% tax increase, the proposed budget is a $17M decrease from 2020.

    COVID has also exacerbated existing inequalities. My focus is a Just Recovery budget that centers those who have been hit the hardest.

    In this budget, I’m fighting to protect proposed 2021 investments in:

    • ✅ Community & public services, including keeping small libraries open
    • ✅ Longer hours at the Evelyn Saller Centre in the DTES ($225K)
    • ✅ Creating a Sex Worker Drop-In Centre ($360K)

    During a crisis, austerity only makes things worse.

    Council already voted to defer $254M in capital spending, resulting in a one-time $8M savings to the operating budget. I support reallocating this toward one-time investments in:

    • ✅ Infrastructure & programming to improve Safe Routes To Schools ($0.5M) Related to the Climate Emergency Action Plan and motions that OneCity Vancouver Trustee Jennifer Reddy & I brought to Council & the VSB)
    • ✅ Improving walking, rolling & cycling networks and increased curb cuts ($1.5M)
    • ✅ Electric vehicle charging infrastructure in rental buildings & underserved neighbourhoods ($500K)
    • ✅ Anti-racism and cultural redress ($300K)
    • ✅ Extending work on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry & Red Women Rising report ($50K)
    • ✅ Initial work related to Council’s motion on Decriminalizing Poverty and Supporting Community-Led Safety Initiatives ($300K)
    • ✅ Improving equitable access to the Library by welcoming back folks whose past library fines are a barrier to accessing to library services ($150K)
    • ✅ UN Safe Spaces work to increase safety for vulnerable women, trans, Two Spirit, non-binary and gender diverse people ($72K)
    • ✅ Continuation of the Temporary Expedited Patio Program ($1.93M)

    I also *strongly* support investments in:

    • ✅ Public Washrooms! ($2.5M from external funding)
    • ✅ Increasing non-market, public & coop housing across Vancouver (~$1.4M from Empty Homes Tax)
    • ✅ Maintaining a Medic truck in the DTES, responding to the drug poisoning crisis

    And there are key priorities not included in the proposed budget that I will push to get added in, including:

    • ✅ Work on Indigenous language revitalization ($150K) Related to my motion on the Year of Indigenous Languages (delayed because of COVID)
    • ✅ Indigenous staff in Social Policy & Cultural Services & Indigenous Relations work at the Library ($200K)
    • ✅ Work with the South Asian community on addressing historical discrimination ($100K)
    • ✅ Enhanced street & park cleaning ($1.33M)
    • ✅ Increased training, childminding & support for city advisory committees, who bring important & diverse resident insight to City Hall ($92K)

    Finally, the proposed city budget includes a $3.1M increase over 2020 levels to the police budget. At a time when virtually every other department has held vacancies & found savings, and when the city’s overall budget is down, I don’t support this increase.

    Here’s the summary

    If we hold the VPD budget at its 2020 amount, and reallocate savings from capital deferrals, then we could fund everything listed above, limit the tax increase to 5%, and keep the entire budget $17M below 2020 levels.

    A Just Recovery budget is possible. One that responds to public input, invests equitably in people & services, and provides residents good value for money.

    Budgets are where we show who we are, where we do or don’t follow through on the values we espouse & motions we passed. I’m committed to Reconciliation, anti-racism, housing, climate action, and dignity & safety for all. My work & votes on the budget will reflect that.

    Help more people understand the budget! Find and share this post on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

    Read the 2021 Budget Report here, and read the full 500 page Budget Book here.

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