I am sure you are extremely proud of your constituents, and the privilege of representing the voters and citizens of our Royal City this Family Day, 2010. Volunteers in this City have happily driven single parents and their children to participate in a terrific, free day of educational kids’ activities at the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre. Others volunteered their services to transport Seniors to St. Joseph’s Health Centre to visit their ailing spouses. I feel the selflessness of some owners of transportation towards Guelph Transit riders should be recognized.
It is a testament to the strength of the fabric of the Guelph Community that volunteers provide transportation alternatives on Family Day, to those who are able to attend these activities. Unfortunately, many families are not in a position to take advantage of these special community events, due to lack of access to a car or friends or volunteers with transportation.
The reality of the economic slowdown has understandably had negative effects on services available to these and other groups (Seniors, Single Parent Families and Volunteers). Reductions to budgets, services and expenses are basic business doctrines required to survive times of reduced revenues. However, there is a glaring disconnect in the actual implementation and enforcement of these fiscal triage procedures.
I applaud Council for putting forward the temporary wage reductions for City employees. Moreover, I applaud the employees willing to accept these necessary budget-cutting measures, in lieu of further job cuts. Management has however, overlooked some fundamental tenets of economic and marketing fact. At no time does it make sense to increase the price of a product or service, while reducing the value or benefit of that service to increase consumer demand.
Guelph Transit management has failed to listen to their customers – the taxpayers, the riders, and their potential customers – the driving public. As a cost-cutting compromise, provided service is improved, attitude adjustments made and schedules are adhered to, I am sure current and future riders would overwhelmingly embrace 30 minute and vacation day schedules for a 365-day service commitment. Transit union members it is reported, feel they are not only immune to these financial times, but under threat of a one-week long service holiday, refuse to consider the cost-cutting measures accepted by peers in the employ of the City.
In deference to their taxpaying constituents, City Council must have a serious discussion with management of the City of Guelph to determine who is actually running this Corporation. City Council must carry out their elected responsibility to provide policy to an effective management structure who, if incapable of managing under austere economic constrains, be replaced with management who posses these most basic of management skills. Rather than pandering to the current exploitive and inefficient labour environment,
partnering, teamwork and healthy employee relations may be a good place to start developing a delivery network of superior service continuity across all city departments.I implore City Council, on this Family Day, to reassess who is in charge of our City – our management or outside labour relations interests? To deal with shortfalls in taxpayer services, and in a spirit consistent with their aggressive green environmental agenda, City Council should ‘Grow a Pair’. CH