Vic wants zero-based budget

New North Bay Mayor Vic Fedeli says he wants to start with a clean piece of paper when it comes to putting together the city’s 2004 budget.

In a long and wide-ranging interview with baytoday.ca Fedeli said city council's immediate order of business will be "all about the budget,” and that the budget process will be done differently than before.

“I’m not the kind of person in business who says 'okay let’s take last year’s budget and add three per cent and we’re done,’ I like to start at zero and say, okay, what do you need,” Fedeli said.

“It doesn’t matter what you had last year, that has absolutely no bearing to me on what you need this year, and that will be very different, remarkably different at city hall this year.”

That's how we got ourselves in trouble
Fedeli said he’s a zero-based budget proponent.

“I like to start with a clean slate and discuss what it is you need. Just because you ended up with capital acquisitions one year that money shouldn’t just continue to be added ad nauseum,” Fedeli said.

“That’s how we got ourselves in trouble. I’d rather have a clean sheet of paper and say what is it we need and why.”

That approach, Fedeli adds, is the one he wants to take with the city’s agencies, boards and commissions because they represent half the city’s budget.

“Let’s face it. I think we are in crisis, and I believe we need to recognize that,” Fedeli said.

“And if we allow the ABCs to continue the normal course of business they historically have, we’re going to continue sliding down the incredibly slippery slope.”

Led a great charge
Asked about the city debt, Fedeli stated it was $39.4 million but also said commitments have to be factored in too.

They include $15 million “give or take” to the hospital, $10 million for the water treatment plan, and close $10 million for infrastructure related to the new hospital.

“I also like to include the $3 million liability on the books for the conservation authority bail-out, so that’s where we come up with a higher number, because those are absolutely known commitments,” Fedeli said.

“And why not just admit right up front that that is money that is committed and about to be spent.”

New Deputy Mayor Peter Chirico led a “great charge" in tackling the debt over the last three years, Fedeli said and by instituting “a nice capital program” to begin fixing the streets.
But we cannot continue the wild spending that had been allowed over the last dozen years,” Fedeli said.

Entire ship needs to be turned
North Bay, Fedeli said, has been straddled with mandated provincial downloading, which has upped the cost of running the city.

“But nobody downloaded renovations on city hall or a million-dollar overrun on those renovations, nobody downloaded a new $6 million airport when we had less than $5 million to work with, so those are the millions that have accumulated and they have nothing to do with mandated actions or downloads,” Fedeli said.

During a news conference while opening his campaign headquarters, Fedeli said city administration takes its direction from council “and they need a new direction.”

In fact, Fedeli said, “there’s an entire ship” that needs to be turned around.

“It took us 20 years to get into the situation we’re in, and the ship won’t stop immediately and turn on a dime, and it’s going to take a while to halt the direction,” Fedeli said.

The city, Fedeli said, can spend $12 million "on a legacy project” but can’t remove the snow banks.

“We need to be customer focused. Our taxpayers are our customers,” Fedeli said, “and they deserve to have Lakeshore Drive ploughed so that all four lanes are functional in the winter and the snow banks are removed.”

Interesting case in point
When asked about privatization of city services, Fedeli said he is against doing that.

And in cases where it has happened, Fedeli said he'd like to take closer look at the outcome.

"I want to find out what happened when they privatized the
water treatment to OCWA, claiming it would generate a $2 million savings, and I’d like to see whether it did or not, that will be a really interesting case in point," Fedeli said.

But he's not exactly sure how he's going to check that out.

"I don’t know what I’ll have made available to me." Fedeli said.

"I know as a business person I’m a hands on guy in the initial stage, in terms of the development of how I like to see things happen, and then I back away and let the paid staff run with it."

Fedeli said he doesn't know "how far I’ll get with that at city hall but it will be interesting to see."
"I honestly don’t have any preconceived notion of how this is going to play out."

Honeymoon period
Council is sworn in Dec. 1 and has its first meeting Dec. 8.
And in the short term, Fedeli said, there will be a bit of a honeymoon period with the public “that will probably extend to the day the final budget comes out in spring.”

And it’s during that time he will try to implement as much as possible of his 2020 Vision plan, the cornerstone of his campaigning.

“The community development corporation, the GAP officer, the selling of residential lots, those just aren’t cute election ideas,” Fedeli said.

“When implemented they will arrest some of the financial decay that we found ourselves in, and that needs to be done as quickly as possible.”

Follow-up leads
While he can’t wait until he’s sworn in, Fedeli said his real work begins Dec. 2, when he moves into the fifth floor of city hall.

His first order of business, Fedeli said, will be to follow up on some business leads he’s heard about.

“I’d rather phone them from mayor’s office Tuesday Dec. 2 than just from Vic Fedeli’s cell phone.”