Councilors concerned over costs of empty bus rides

By Mark Squibb/August 19, 2022

During last week’s public council meeting, the City was in receipt of an invoice of $51,438 from MVT Canadian Bus for bus services in June, including Go-Bus and paratransit routes.

In June, explained Deputy Mayor Nicole Kieley, the City paid for 110 paratransit trips, 380 GoBus trips, and 67 ‘no-shows.’

Those no-show charges caught the attention of councillor Isabelle Fry.

“So, we’re charged for no-shows?” asked Fry. “Seems like an awfully high number to me… I’m concerned for two reasons. First of all, I know a lot of times, when residents are looking to use the GoBus, there are some frustrations when the GoBus is more than an hour — or two, or three — late. So, if a resident wants to go to an appointment, they book a GoBus accordingly, and if the GoBus doesn’t show up in time, you miss your appointment or you find alternate arrangements. Is that considered a no-show at that point?”

Fry said her second concern was that the City was spending money on bus trips even if there was nobody onboard.

“This is something that we need to look further into,” said Fry, who added she believed the City of St. John’s was looking into that exact same matter already.

Mayor Dave Aker said he believed the number of no-shows hovered at around five percent.

“But I think it’s built into the contract that if the bus moves, somehow it has to be paid,” said Aker. “So, MVT gets reimbursed. But I take councillor Fry’s concerns. You know, you never like to see a bus being paid for by taxpayers’ money that’s going empty.”

Director of Corporate Services Cassie Pittman said the matter is under review, and any further information uncovered can be sent back to council for consideration.

In June, said Pittman, there were 41 paratransit no-shows and 26 Go-Bus no-shows.

City doubles down on negotiation position

By Mark Squibb/August 12, 2022

With the ongoing CUPE Local 2099 strike now in it’s fifth week, neither the City nor the union seem willing to budge on their respective positions.

Deputy Mayor Nicole Kieley brought forward an update on the negotiations during this week’s council meeting, which was held remotely and not at City Hall due to the strike.

“As a committee we acknowledge and understand the impact this labor disruption is having an effect on us all,” said Kieley, a member of the Corporate Services and Public Works committee. “We see that the fields of our community are empty, our facilities are closed, and programming is suspended, and we are being asked by many of you to get back to the table and get a deal. And let me be very clear and say, that is what we want as well.”

She said Mount Pearl employees receive competitive wages, a defined benefit pension plan, severance entitlement after 10 years of service, health and dental benefits, and a “more than reasonable sick leave allocation.”

“The City of Mount Pearl will always be a great place to work for both existing and new employees,” said Kieley. “As a steward of taxpayers dollars, it’s our job to ensure that our ongoing operations remain sustainable, and can be delivered within our existing budgets, and we do believe this can be achieved.”

Councillor Jim Locke then gave a financial update, referring back to the City’s 2021 audited financial statements, which painted a bleak picture of the City’s financial position in light of picketer’s demands.

“Last year, the City experienced a decrease in revenue coupled with an increase in expenses, and this is important for council to consider as we are now moving into the fifth week of the current labor disruption,” said Locke. “The decisions that we make now are going to have a lasting effect on the cost of operations for the short, the medium, and the long term for the City. And when this council brought forward the 2022 budget, we were open, and we were transparent about the budget pressures that the City is experiencing. With no anticipated increases in revenue for 2022, our mandate at the time, when we brought down the budget, was to maintain the current level of expenditure, while at the same time, striving to meet the changing needs of our community. And that objective remains intact as we negotiate out new collective agreement.”

Locke then pulled some detailed numbers out of the financial statement.

“The City’s revenue is not growing, and while we maintain a strong tax base, our taxation revenue has decreased year over year,” he noted. “Tax revenue is down over $2 million dollars in just a couple of years. Tax revenue hit a peak of $46.9 million in 2020. This decreased to $44.5 million in 2021, and is projected to be $44.1 million in 2022.”

Locke echoed Kieley’s comments on Mount Pearl’s competitive wages and benefits.

“But that high level of service comes at a cost,” said Locke. “Payroll expenditures remain the City’s largest expense, representing over $19.3 million dollars in 2021, which is just over 36 percent of the city’s overall budget. The cost of payroll related expenses had increased over $2 million dollars since 2018, and just over $ 6 million dollars in the last eight years since 2014. So, based on the reality of our reduced revenue and our rising cost of service delivery and payroll related expenditures, we must reach a collective agreement that can be delivered within our existing budget.”

Like Kieley, Locke acknowledged the strike is having a major impact on residents, and said he hoped an agreement can be reached soon.

Striking union members are picketing against a proposition by the City that new hires receive 12 paid sick days per year instead of the 21 sick days existing employees receive (which they say creates a two-tiered system), and a reduction in paid sick days from 21 to 18 for existing employees. The union also snubbed the City’s offer of a five percent pay increase over four years.

Mount Pearl spends over $43,000 on video surveillance

By Mark Squibb/August 12, 2022

City Hall is keeping an electronic eye on picketers as CUPE Local 2099 members continue to strike with no end in sight.

At this week’s public council meeting, the City was in receipt of two separate invoices from Provincial Investigative Services for video/security services, one for $24,880 and one for $19,029, for a total of $43,909.

“Notably there are two invoices from Provincial Investigative Services,” Deputy Mayor Nicole Kieley pointed out to council during this week’s council meeting. “This is reflective of video surveillance costs from the current labor disruption. These services are instrumental in ensuring the safety of our workers crossing picket lines and performing the work of our city during this time.”

In other strike news, councillor Bill Antle noted that over 600 refunds have been issued because of the closure of facilities and cancellation of memberships and aquatics programs up to August 7 because of the strike, and that there are more to come.

“If you’ve registered or paid online, you should have received refunds automatically,” said Antle. “Anyone who registered or paid in person, would have been contacted regarding their refund. Please be patient as we’re working as fast as we can to get it all done.”

Additionally, the City continues to provide refunds weekly for cancelled facility bookings each week.

The strike, which was declared on Thursday, July 7, entered it’s fifth week on Thursday, August 12, with neither side budging from their respective positions.

Bevy of streets in for small repairs

By Mark Squibb/August 2, 2022

Mount Pearl City council approved Modern Paving Limited to complete some road repairs around the city for a bid price of $270,129 (HST Included).

The request for proposals closed on June 6 and two bids were received.

There was no discussion on the matter and the motion was passed unanimously.

The Pearl requested further clarification from the City, and in a follow up e-mail learned that the tender is for general isolated repairs on Centennial Street, Smallwood Drive, Kyle Avenue, Winston Avenue, Corey King Drive, Edinburgh Drive, Forest Avenue, Valleyview Avenue, Commonwealth Avenue, Parsons Avenue, Penmore Drive, Norma's Avenue, Topsail Road, and Topaz Place.

Strike disruption leaves some families in swim program feeling all wet

By Mark Squibb/August 5, 2022

When parents heard that swimming lessons, both four-week and eight-week sets, had been officially cancelled in Mount Pearl due to the ongoing strike by City workers, it seems their concern was whether they would have to re-register for lessons once the strike ends.

Councillor Isabelle Fry brought forward that concern during last week’s public meeting.

“I had a resident ask about the swimming cancellations and one of the difficulties they had when trying to register their kids for swimming is trying to get a spot, so they were wondering, when it’s rescheduled, will it be rescheduled for the same participants?” asked Fry. “Or will it be all from scratch again?”

The question went to Recreation and Community Safety Director Jason Collins.

“Unfortunately, we’ll be starting from scratch again,” said Collins. “Where this was part way through some lessons for some, and for some it hadn’t started, it was only a short four-week set, so we would do a full restart, and everyone would register again.”

Fry said that decision was “too bad,” while Mayor Dave Aker said that in the past the City has always worked with people to get them slotted in.

“In most cases, residents would get a spot and very few times, as you just indicated, a resident would not get a swimming spot,” said Collins. “It may not be their preferred (spot), but there’s always room for a spot for a participant.”

Aker said the City’s commitment is that no child will go without swimming lessons.

Councillor Jim Locke said he had heard the same concerns from residents, and he wondered if the schedule could just ‘spring forward’ once lessons resume so that folks can hold onto their spot.

“Their question was, can we just move the registration, rather than try and vie to get another spot, because their concern was that they may not get another spot,” said Locke, who added the City is ‘generally able’ to accommodate residents.

“So, we can’t just simply move the registration forward, but we’re confident that all of our children will be able to receive a spot for swimming lessons when they do resume, is that a safe assumption, Mr. Collins?” asked Locke.

“It is, but just a complicating factor for summer lessons is that summer lessons are reduced number wise,” said Collins. “Typically, there’s less registered. So, right now we’ve cancelled the July set, and the July and August set, the one that’s eight weeks. If, for instance, the next set of lessons starts in September, peoples’ schedules are totally changed so it might work for twenty precent of the people, but when it comes to school and fall and everything else, for many people it wouldn’t work, so it’s best, we feel, to just start from scratch and people would register again.”

Locke allowed that going back to open registration, with the confidence that residents should be able to secure a spot, made sense given how much people’s schedules will change in the fall.

Councillor Bill Antle noted that folks who have registered and paid online will automatically receive their refunds, while those who registered or paid in person will be contacted regarding their refund.

A decision regarding cancellation of fitness programs, such as aqua fit, deep-water fitness, Sculpt, and yoga, will be made in the coming weeks.

City issues statement addressing ongoing strike

By Mark Squibb/July 29, 2022

While other communities go full tilt with summer festivities and Come Home Year celebrations, Mount Pearl is focused on more mundane tasks like getting garbage collected in a timely manner, due to a union strike that has led over 200 CUPE workers to the picket lines.

The City issued a statement on Friday July 22, regarding the strike, which entered it’s fourth week this Thursday.

“The City of Mount Pearl respects the right of its unionized workforce to strike,” read the release. “They have the right to picket and the right to respectfully protest the City’s position within collective bargaining. However, in 2022, no one has the right to bully, intimidate, humiliate, or disrespect the non-bargaining workforce who are crossing the picket line each day to go to work.”

The release alleges that “there have been repeated instances of disrespectful behaviour that continue to go beyond legal picketing to bullying and intimidation. City managers, contracted workers, and staff with community groups have been followed, filmed, and physically confined while being ridiculed, taunted, and berated,” and calls upon CUPE Local 2099 to immediately stop such behaviour.

The release echoes the words of Mount Pearl Mayor Dave Aker, who told media outlets, including The Pearl, that there had been reports of picketers bullying and harassing staff members as they went to work.

In an interview with The Pearl last week, CUPE Local 2099 President Ken Turner said those accusations were a mere tactic used by the City to turn the general public against picketers.

In speaking with The Pearl, Aker said that City benefits are ‘second to none,’ including 42 days of paid leave (21 sick-days, 14 paid holidays, and seven special leave days) along with 15 to 30 days of annual vacation.

Those benefits, along with many others, are reiterated in the City’s statement — including management’s proposal that sick leave be reduced from 21 to 18 days for existing employees and that new hires receive 12 sick days instead of 21.

Turner, along with other union leaders both local and national, who spoke at a rally last week, said they refuse to accept a two-tiered system.

The City maintains that changes to the health and dental plan for either current or new employees has never been tabled.

Mount Pearl council pleased with Canada Day celebration

By Mark Squibb/July 29, 2022

Members of Mount Pearl council say that they are well pleased with the July 1 Canada Day celebrations.

“I just wanted to say, it was a beautiful day and such an incredible turnout, and it was really great to see people,” said councillor Isabelle Fry during a recent public meeting of council. “I just wanted to say thank you to all involved in making that day happen. It was well needed and well enjoyed.”

Councillor Mark Rice also spoke to the celebrations.

“We had a phenomenal turn out for Canada Day, and the weather was absolutely beautiful,” said Rice. “It’s so good to see everybody, the kids, and the families, over at St. David’s Field. You could see people smiling, and everybody getting back together.”

Mayor Dave Aker, who also tipped his hat to Public Works staff and other staff members who helped organize the celebration, added that he thought it was one of the biggest crowds gathered together for Canada Day yet.

“I believe our community has a huge thirst for those types of events coming out of COVID,” said Aker.

The City has not yet made a final decision as to whether next week’s City Days events will be cancelled or rejigged in light of the strike by its unionized workers, which has shuttered City buildings such as the Summit Centre and the Reid Community Centre.

Later in the meeting, council approved for payment two invoices related to the Canada Day concert: A bill for $9,200 to be paid to Change Enterprises Inc., (The Fables), and a bill totalling $5,750 to be paid to The Navigators, for a total of about $14,950.