CambridgeToday received the following open letter to Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett and councillors from regional councillor Doug Craig about the poor showing of Cambridge residents at regional budget discussions and lack of Cambridge applicants for regional grant money.
Mayor Jan Liggett and Cambridge City Council,
As all of us are negotiating our way through the budgetary season, I would like to bring to your attention my concerns about the shortcomings of the fiscal process now underway at the Region of Waterloo. As we are all aware, a budget is in reality a statement about our values and the kind of community we are trying to build. It is an all-encompassing reflection on everything from support for climate change, to concerns for vulnerable individuals living in encampments to needed expansions in public services. In other words, it defines for the coming year the priorities, commitments and aspirations of the regional community.
My concerns are two-fold. First, Cambridge residents are not showing up to offer their input into the direction of the regional budget. During our meeting last Wednesday, we heard from 34 delegations with only two from Cambridge and one from Woolwich. The Kitchener-Waterloo constituents dominated the budgetary proceedings, and this should not be characterized as a one off. The previous two budget cycles reflected the same absence of Cambridge residents. In essence what we will get on December 11 is a final regional budget that will be heavily weighted in favour of Kitchener-Waterloo concerns.
Yet, not only are there virtually no Cambridge residents attending budget meetings at the region, there is a decided absence in Cambridge artists successfully accessing grants through the Waterloo Region Community Fund which just recently distributed over $330,000. This speaks to my second concern. Out of 43 successful applicants, two were from Cambridge, one from Woolwich and the remaining 40 from Kitchener-Waterloo.
I along with Councillor Pam Wolf have brought this to the attention of our regional colleagues with no success. At this point, I would like to make two suggestions to Cambridge City Council. First, that in the coming years city council request that a public meeting of Regional Council be held in Cambridge in order to properly engage Cambridge residents in the budgetary process. Second, that Cambridge City Council consider initiating a public attitude survey in the coming year that will investigate why Cambridge residents are not responding to opportunities to engage Regional Government.
I do appreciate your concern in this important matter, and I look forward to answering any questions.
Doug Craig
Regional councillor
Cambridge
