The city wakes to a new budget, and the old arguments
Council passed the spending plan just before midnight. Today the wards count what it costs them.
By Sunita Rai
City desk
The budget adds 14 ward offices, freezes the taxi fare and finds money for two new bus lanes. Opposition members walked out before the vote; the mayor says the plan pays for itself by spring.
Ward offices opened yesterday to a queue of residents and a one-page notice. The taxi fare freeze took effect immediately; the bus lanes are pinned to a contractor calendar nobody will show us.
The opposition walked out shortly before the vote. By the count the council keeps, it passed 19 for, 8 against. Nobody disputes the arithmetic — what the money buys is the argument.
The wards will present their own spending plans within the fortnight. We will keep counting here.
“A revenue target is not a forecast. It is a promise with a deadline attached.”
Filed by Sunita Rai
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