Toronto -- fill the potholes then worry about the arts

Mayor David Miller is proposing to raise annual grants to Toronto’s arts and community groups by $2 million, according to a report in today’s Globe and Mail. Since David Miller took over city hall in 2003 these grants have risen by $12 million. I consider myself to be a supporter of both arts and community groups and have in the past supported them with dollars from my own wallet. But I find this increase, at a time when we are in a recession, and the streets of Toronto are dotted with enough potholes to resemble a war zone, completely inappropriate.
I do not begrudge the tax increase if it is used wisely. Funding arts and community programs may be considered a noble use of the money by Mr. Miller, but filling the potholes will create more jobs, save Toronto’s motorists from thousands of dollars in repair bills and make a considerable contribution to improving Toronto’s reputation among tourists.

So I say, get practical for the next 12-18 months, fill the potholes and tackle as many of the other underfunded infrastructure projects as possible. Leave the arts and community programs to the passionate, committed people who have kept them alive in good times and bad for decades.

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Deb Prothero on March 19, 2009 at 8:29pm: While I don't live in Toronto, I visit often and have experienced the infrastructure problems. However, I'm a professional fundraiser and have found that the people who keep the arts and community groups going are those with smaller donations from those being hardest hit during this economic downturn not so much the large donations.

With several years of cuts in arts, culture and social justice funding in order to fund tax cuts, the ongoing operational funding has already been cut to the bone in these organizations. This recession is hitting at a time when staff are exhausted from juggling higher donor expectations for bare bones administrations and some major capital campaigns.

In addition, the fundraising world has changed considerably over the last two decades. Smaller organizations are now in competition for dollars with universities, colleges and hospitals who have also entered this field due to cuts in their budgets and raised expectations. Ten years ago, community colleges did not need to fundraise. Some had small programs among alumni for bursaries. Now their programs wouldn't exist without fundraising. This began in 1997 with the so-called Super Build fund. With money taken away from operating budgets on one hand, and the colleges were forced to compete for meager grants which had to be matched in the private sector and could only be used for capital improvements. Fundraising departments and tuition increases have followed to make up the shortfalls in operating funds.

In addition, our infrastructure has suffered from a couple decades of bare minimum maintenance and capital investments due, also in part, to the taxpayers' expectation for lower taxes.

Difficult choices lay ahead.

We have chosen this spot by our loud screams for lower taxes at the provincial and federal levels and zero percent or low increases in property taxes. In my opinion, you do get what you are prepared to pay for. Maybe now would be the time to realize that lower taxes lead to lower investments in the public infrastructure and that we can do better when we all work together. The tax cuts have not benefitted our society, in general, but have cut deeply into our ability to fund the basics. Not that I'm in favour of big government but we can do better.; ▶ Reply to This