Every buck you spend: Discretionary money matters during an election year

Even though it's only early February, Mayor Brian Bowman has already blown about 40 per cent of his civic-initiatives budget for all of 2018. And he did so during a pair of announcements over the past two weeks.

Bowman's office is allotted $503,000 this year for what's officially known as "civic initiatives, promotional and protocol." This discretionary fund is a small pot of money within the context of Winnipeg's total budget of $1.08 billion.

From a simple accounting perspective, it doesn't matter much how the mayor spends this money. Bowman could spend all of it or none of it and still have the same overall effect on the city's bottom line.

But politics is never just about accounting. In an election year, every penny of the mayor's discretionary spending is imbued with political significance, as it allows an incumbent mayor to hold press conferences and generate headlines well before he officially declares his intention to run for office.

On Jan. 23, the mayor reduced the account by $180,000 when he announced additional funding for public-safety initiatives and beautification efforts undertaken by Take Pride Winnipeg, three inner-city business improvement zones and the Bear Clan Patrol.

Bowman further drained his discretionary-spending pool by on Feb. 1, when he doled out $20,000 to help expand the hours for warming centres.

• Bear Clan, BIZ groups and Take Pride get cash for foot patrols, graffiti cleanup
• Warming centres to open 7 nights a week for Winnipeg's most vulnerable homeless

It's tough to argue the wisdom of doling out this cash. You'd have to be completely lacking in empathy to take issue with the use of public funds to keep vulnerable Winnipeggers from freezing to death. Likewise, you ought to have your logic circuits examined if you believe municipal governments ought to play no role in assisting volunteer litter control or foot patrols.

Nonetheless, there is nothing compelling Mayor Brian Bowman's office to announce this sort of funding, let alone have the mayor attend press conferences in person and smile in front of cameras when these donations are made official. In fact, you could argue it would be prudent for a mayor to refrain from this sort of activity during an election year.

"The timing and the style of the announcements are obviously notable," North Kildonan Coun. Jeff Browaty said on Monday during a brief telephone interview.

Browaty — who said last summer he was mulling a mayoral run, but is not expected to follow through on that musing — said he has no problem with the recipients of the mayor's donations.

Rather, Browaty is just the only councillor blunt enough to go on record with his concern, that Bowman has access to a pot of funds that can be dispersed well before the mayor registers his re-election campaign and starts to raise money of his own to achieve that aim.

I'll note that members of council also have funds available, and in many cases are used for advertising, like bus-shack signs and signs in arenas.- Mayor Brian Bowman

Bowman, however, said the only thing that's important is how he drains this discretionary-spending kitty, not the year in which he happens to drains it.

"The scrutiny should be on all elected officials for the choices we make for the funds that are made available to us," Bowman said Friday during a media availability at city hall. "I don't think the given year makes a difference."

In previous years, the mayor said, he used this pot of money to fund an anti-racism conference and an illuminated Winnipeg sign.

"These funds have been available each year and I've tried to manage and use them in a way that is appropriate and I believe that I've done so in each year that I've been serving," Bowman said.

"I'll note that members of council also have funds available, and in many cases are used for advertising, like bus-shack signs and signs in arenas. Those are decisions that respective councillors make and I respect that."

"I don't use the money to put billboards or bus shacks up. I use it to try to help the community as best I can."

Again, no one would argue warming centres and downtown-safety are unworthy recipients of funding. But it would be disingenuous to claim such decisions have no impact in an election year.

While Bowman could announce his intention to seek a second term as mayor at any time, the earliest he can legally raise money for a re-election run is May 1, when mayoral candidates can register their campaigns.

Even then, it would be unwise for Bowman to declare his re-election at the beginning of May, nearly six months before election day, as anything he does after he declares his candidacy can and will be viewed as a campaign activity.

This is why it would be politically expedient for the mayor to spend his entire civic-initiatives budget — he still has almost $290,000 left in the kitty — before he announces his re-election run.

Asked when he thought it would be wise to stop making announcements about the use of this fund, the mayor said he has not spoken to the city clerk about it.

In other words, Brian Bowman is free to dole out what's left of his half-a-million dollar discretionary-spending fund with as much or as little fanfare he sees fit.

Perhaps no press conferences are required at all, if in fact — as Bowman says — it does not matter that it's an election year.

Civic initiatives funding in 2018, so far

• $90,0000 for Take Pride Winnipeg litter control, graffiti control and snow removal
• $30,000 for Downtown Winnipeg BIZ safe walk and foot patrols
• $30,000 for Exchange District BIZ safe walk and foot patrols
• $30,000 for West End BIZ safe walk and foot patrols
• $20,000 for warming centres
• $13,359 for Bear Clan Patrol purchases of radios, cellphones and a defibrillator