what our city needs to do

1) quit attacking and abusing its citizens through fines and inappropriate fees.

2) Make the city a safer place to drive and live

3) reduce spending in certain areas

4) increase spending in others

5) lower our overall budget by 10 million

6) reduce EPC to 5 positions

7) make living and doing business in the city easier

make our reputation better.

9) force our CC structure to quit playing games with people's lives and money. (trust me when I say you really dont want to know some of the crap happening right now)

10) talk to the people more

11) talk to the people more

See. I told ya Deank was running fer mayor...

Why do I keep hearing rumors that Dean has dual citizenship and ran in the 2008 Presidential Election?

Sounds like a platform is being put together for Oct 2010...............

please add to this list as y'all see fit.

Such platforms are not interesting to me unless they specify the "how" aspect.

Flesh it out for us, DeanK.

12. Straighten out the TIPP program. (The assessments haven't sync'd with the mill rate yet.)

13. Suspend Dean with suspenders.

Turn the cops into the good guys as opposed to the guys you watch out for and avoid as much as possible.

You know... when there's a 300 dollar fine (or whatever it is) for riding a bike on the sidewalk, and anyone interested in not dying rides their bike on the sidewalk... then the cops become a nuisance, as opposed to protectors and upholders of justice.

By that you lose a lot of civic co-operation automatically. Even perfectly innocent, generally law-abiding citizens will avoid the cops because they're not perfect, and the cops can always give them crap for one thing or another.

Now, my EXPERIENCE with law enforcement is of course only Icelandic, and thankfully it's not that extensive either, but this applies to any place in the world. When ordinary things are crimes, the fact that they're crimes becomes a serious problem for law enforcement. You cannot get the necessary public co-operation in a culture where the cops are generally considered a nuisance.

Triniman wrote:Such platforms are not interesting to me unless they specify the "how" aspect.

Flesh it out for us, DeanK.

heh... not just yet youngman.. not jest yet... cant put all the cards on the table.

But if you want I will meet up in person and talk about them

helgihg wrote:Turn the cops into the good guys as opposed to the guys you watch out for and avoid as much as possible.

You know... when there's a 300 dollar fine (or whatever it is) for riding a bike on the sidewalk, and anyone interested in not dying rides their bike on the sidewalk... then the cops become a nuisance, as opposed to protectors and upholders of justice.

By that you lose a lot of civic co-operation automatically. Even perfectly innocent, generally law-abiding citizens will avoid the cops because they're not perfect, and the cops can always give them crap for one thing or another.

Now, my EXPERIENCE with law enforcement is of course only Icelandic, and thankfully it's not that extensive either, but this applies to any place in the world. When ordinary things are crimes, the fact that they're crimes becomes a serious problem for law enforcement. You cannot get the necessary public co-operation in a culture where the cops are generally considered a nuisance.

see point 1

JTF wrote:12. Straighten out the TIPP program. (The assessments haven't sync'd with the mill rate yet.)

we need to straighten out the how we are taxed situation.

have you taken a gander at the year to year graph of the mill rate?

freaken ridiculous.

up down, up down, up down touch the ground in the mood for food

oops sorry started signing winnie the pooh there.

But its ridiculous.

set the rate per house at X if there are additions X plus Y if there are subtractions X minus Y. no more year to year evaluations based on market rate.

Then the overall city rate goes up or down your taxes go up or down. No games.

Council says we need X million and that means this year your taxes go up 1.2%.

you can actually follow the numbers. BLAME the politicians if need be, or better evaluate what each little project means to you.

no more games with numbers.

helgihg wrote:Turn the cops into the good guys as opposed to the guys you watch out for and avoid as much as possible.

You know... when there's a 300 dollar fine (or whatever it is) for riding a bike on the sidewalk, and anyone interested in not dying rides their bike on the sidewalk... then the cops become a nuisance, as opposed to protectors and upholders of justice.

By that you lose a lot of civic co-operation automatically. Even perfectly innocent, generally law-abiding citizens will avoid the cops because they're not perfect, and the cops can always give them crap for one thing or another.

Now, my EXPERIENCE with law enforcement is of course only Icelandic, and thankfully it's not that extensive either, but this applies to any place in the world. When ordinary things are crimes, the fact that they're crimes becomes a serious problem for law enforcement. You cannot get the necessary public co-operation in a culture where the cops are generally considered a nuisance.

I agree, especially with the riding the bike on the sidewalk.

Some people on this forum would have you believe it's most heinous crime know to man!

helgihg wrote:
You know... when there's a 300 dollar fine (or whatever it is) for riding a bike on the sidewalk, and anyone interested in not dying rides their bike on the sidewalk... then the cops become a nuisance, as opposed to protectors and upholders of justice.

I don't agree with the fine, but riding on the street is much safer than riding on a sidewalk. Trust me, you don't want to ride on the sidewalk. Cars tend to stop right at the intersection, rather than at the stop sign, especially on residential roads connecting to a major roadway.

As long as you obey the rules of the road, you should be fine.

Now, my EXPERIENCE with law enforcement is of course only Icelandic, and thankfully it's not that extensive either, but this applies to any place in the world. When ordinary things are crimes, the fact that they're crimes becomes a serious problem for law enforcement. You cannot get the necessary public co-operation in a culture where the cops are generally considered a nuisance.

Yes, we need more Police walking the beat in the areas with a high crime rate. Downtown along Portage avenue would be grreat. The expanded U of W campus, the renovated Central Park, and North Main could use increased Police presence.

Bartron wrote:Some people on this forum would have you believe it's most heinous crime know to man!

It's not just people on this forum. Frankly I don't care where people ride their bikes. It is the double standard cyclists want to impose on others that bothers me.

You want others to obey the rules of the road? Do so yourself.

You don't feel it should be illegal to ride on the sidewalk? Get the rules changed. Until then follow all the rules of the road not just the convenient rules.

That seems fair eh?

grumpy old man wrote:

Bartron wrote:Some people on this forum would have you believe it's most heinous crime know to man!

It's not just people on this forum. Frankly I don't care where people ride their bikes. It is the double standard cyclists want to impose on others that bothers me.

You want others to obey the rules of the road? Do so yourself.

You don't feel it should be illegal to ride on the sidewalk? Get the rules changed. Until then follow all the rules of the road not just the convenient rules.

That seems fair eh?

Not only is that what cyclists should do, but it is more important for cyclists to be following thses rules than Vehicle drivers. If a cyclist gets in an accident with a Car, the result can be a few scrapes at best, and death of a cyclist at worst. It's really common sense.

It should be mandated that any person entering upon a public roadway, sidewalk, or any other public space have on their head a state approved safety device designed to protect the head from any possible damage.

Also, it should follow that elbow and knee protection be added at a later date.

A new policing agency (The Equipment Authority) will have to be created to make sure citizens comply with these new laws. That'll create jobs eh.

JTF wrote:It should be mandated that any person entering upon a public roadway, sidewalk, or any other public space have on their head a state approved safety device designed to protect the head from any possible damage.

Also, it should follow that elbow and knee protection be added at a later date.

A new policing agency (The Equipment Authority) will have to be created to make sure citizens comply with these new laws. That'll create jobs eh.

is that you Kevin?

No. It's me Jimmy. (I own some Riddell stock lol)

Winnipeg need to focus on economic development more than anything else.
The rest will fall into place once the city is growing by 10,000 people
per year.

I still think the biggest issue our city faces is the assimilation of the Aboriginal population.

Ex-Pat-Pegger wrote:Winnipeg need to focus on economic development more than anything else.
The rest will fall into place once the city is growing by 10,000 people per year.

Well, we've reached that number two years running now...

One of the biggest things holding Winnipeg back in my opinion is the notorious "cheapness" Winnipeger's are known for. Unlike some other large cities where those with the means to do so are willing to open their wallets and spend relatively freely on things like restaurants, bars, entertainment, high end goods etc., middle to upper income earners in Winnipeg tend to be much, much more conservative with their disposable income.

I've come across many people with household incomes around $100,000/annually who NEVER eat out, never go to sporting events or concerts, shop almost exclusively at discount retailers or thrift stores, drive used vehicles etc. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with being smart with your money, but the fact that this preference for extreme saving exists, in my opinion holds back the economic development in the city. That money sitting in the bank does nothing to drive growth of business's or job's in the city.

I'm not saying this is true for all, just that it's far more common in Winnipeg than in many other large urban centres.

I also have to agree with Lenny.

"That money sitting in the bank does nothing to drive growth of business's or job's in the city."

what makes you think the money is sitting in the bank?

If you have a mortgage and kids, $100K family income isn't going to let you eat out too often.