Winnipeg city budget passes: Council restores flower, pool funds

Winnipeg council has restored funding to the city'sflower plantingand publicpools,and voted in favour of the city's preliminary 2015 budget.

Councillors met Monday at City Hall to vote on the city's proposed operating and capital budget and whether to amend specific provisions that would've seen funds cutfromthedowntown image route flower planting services andpublic pool programming.

• Winnipeggers to pay more: taxes, garbage fees and transit

Mayor Brian Bowman's office tabled its preliminary budgetMarch 3. It includeda 2.3 per cent hike to property taxes, a frontage levy Coun. Ross Eadiesaid would hurt low-income earners most, andcuts to the city's downtown flower planting andpools.

Bowman has said the majority of revenue set to pour intocitycoffers from the property tax increase willgo toward infrastructure repairs.

The frontage levy, a tax based on the size of the front lot of properties, willgo up an extra $30 for the average homeowner. An amendment was tabled to quash the tax but didn't pass.

Gutting the flower planting budget would've saved the city $177,290 from its expenditure management account. But council ultimately passed an amendmentearly Monday afternoon that stopped those cuts from happening.

Bowman encouraged councillors to support restoring pool funding, and that's exactly what council did.Councillors voted an amendment through that saw a proposed cut of $50,000 to civicpool services shot down. They also approved directing $50,000 to pool service promotions and marketing.

A provision that would've upped patio permit fees for Winnipeg restaurant owners was also struck down.

Several other amendments were on the docket at City Hall. Extending a proposed $60,000 grant for the John Buhler Recreation Park also passed.

Councillors Shawn Dobson and JasonSchreyer were the only councillors present to vote against both the operating and capital budget.