{"id":6596,"date":"2026-01-29T16:15:53","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T21:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/?page_id=6596"},"modified":"2026-01-29T16:15:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T21:15:53","slug":"a-strong-mayors-budget-bus-a-parable","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/?page_id=6596","title":{"rendered":"A Strong Mayor’s Budget Bus – a parable"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cA Strong Mayor\u2019s Budget Bus<\/em><\/strong>\u201d.<\/h3>\n

The process of building a budget package is like travelling a bus route. The bus stop, where the bus is presently parked, and waiting for passengers to hopefully get on board, has a \u2018Route Schedule\u2019 sign which reads, \u201cBudget Bus Stop – January 29th<\/sup>\u201d.\u00a0 This bus stop is named as a date.<\/p>\n

Along the full-length side of the bus, in big, bold, beautiful, colourful, sweeping letters, are the words, \u201cStrong Mayor\u2019s Budget Bus<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n

This particular bus has had a relatively short journey so far that the tax payers, looking on, were unaware of. The route schedule sign board had listed the names of the previous stops it had already made. The schedule board read, \u201cJune \u2013 councillors and Department heads\u201d. The next stop said \u201cJuly \u2013 Departments draft budgets\u201d. Then came \u201cSeptember – Mayor hired KPMG\u201d. Then \u201cOctober \u2013 detailed budget development, and, in small letters, community input\u201d.<\/p>\n

After scanning the schedule board, several tax payers looking on turned to each other and asked, \u201cI don\u2019t remember being at that community input stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next stop was called \u201cNovember \u2013 Collaborative review by staff, Mayor and KPMG\u201d. The tax payers looked again at each other and asked each other, \u201cDid you hear anything about that? Nope was the common reply going around. The next stop was \u201cJanuary \u2013 Strong Mayor tabled the budget.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the tax payers turned around and peared inside the parked bus, they saw the mayor sitting alone in the driver\u2019s seat. It was, after all, her bus<\/u>. They heared her calling out to get on board at this stop and take a ride with her on her big, beautiful bus.<\/p>\n

She told them that all they had to do was agree to pay to ride. She said, \u201cA ticket to ride this year is only 9.7% more than it cost you last year. It\u2019s a great deal, the best I can offer at this time. This bus cost a lot of time and money to design and build for you, and you have to pay to ride.<\/p>\n

Well now, the property tax payers weren\u2019t so sure. They needed to verify how she came up with her prices. They looked at the price sticker posted in the front window. It listed 3 special features of the bus \u2013 Operating, Capital, Reserves \u2013 and the total price to buy it was $31,699,081.<\/p>\n

Standing tall and looking in the side windows, several folks counted 44 seats inside. Someone asked the driver, the strong mayor driver, \u201cHow and why did you choose these 44 seats?\u201d<\/p>\n

She relied, \u201cI didn\u2019t. My design engineers did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are your design engineers?\u201d a voice called out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked a highly skilled group of department heads acting under the direction of our CAO, and specialists from a design group called KPMG consultants.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew that!\u201d said one tax payer, who by coincidence was also a ward councillor.<\/p>\n

One of his ward residents said, \u201cLet\u2019s take a closer look at this \u201cStrong Mayor\u2019s Budget Bus<\/strong>\u201d. Let\u2019s check out all its parts. See if it all makes sense and all adds up to give us a balanced ride.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat idea. While it\u2019s stopped here, let\u2019s check all the seats inside. Look closely at the wheels. I see a couple of big tanks underneath. I\u2019ll check it out,\u201d one said.<\/p>\n

The tax payers spread out and started looking much closer at how this bus was designed and built.<\/p>\n

A group went around to the driver\u2019s side and looked at the double wheels. They seemed to be vibrating. A lady looked at the outside tire, which had a big smile painted on it, with a label that she read aloud, \u201cOperating expenditures\u201d, and a number \u2013 \u201c$18,156,686\u201d.<\/p>\n

A brave soul crawled under the bus and looked at the inside tire. It was shaking violently. It had a scowl painted on it, and a label that read, \u201cOperating expenditures\u201d, and a different number \u2013 \u201c$18,940,813\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s $784,127 more than the smiling outside tire says!\u201d he mumbled to himself.<\/p>\n

To his shock, he heard the inside tire exclaim, \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m shaking. I actually have to carry a bigger load than my outside tire says, and I don\u2019t have enough air in me to do the job!\u201d<\/p>\n

The brave soul promised, \u201cI\u2019ll ask the strong mayor bus driver why there\u2019s such a difference in amounts!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood luck with that,\u201d the tire commented.<\/p>\n

The inquisitive fellow went back around to the passengers\u2019 side where another group had huddled around the double rear tires on the passengers\u2019 side. They appeared to be compressed, slightly flat, apparently from a large load inside that was placed over the tires. These 2 tires were also vibrating.<\/p>\n

An older man noticed that the outside tire had a smile painted on it, and a label that read, \u201cCapital expenditures\u201d, and a number \u2013 \u201c$12,042,395. The man who had just returned from peering at the inside tire on the driver\u2019s side, said to another young guy, \u201cScoot in under the bus and check out what it says on the inside tire.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally?\u201d, the young guy questioned.<\/p>\n

\u201cYah. Check it out. We may get another surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n

The young guy crawled in under the bus, squirmed around to look at the inside tire, and called out, \u201cThis tire is shaking violently. There\u2019s a grimace painted on it, and there\u2019s a label that reads, \u201cCapital expenditures\u201d and it has a number \u2013 \u201c$14,218,435.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s $2,176,040 more than the outside tire reads,\u201d the older man replied.<\/p>\n

The young guy called out, \u201cHoly smoke. This tire just talked to me. It said, \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m shaking. I have to carry a bigger load than my outside tire says, and I don\u2019t have enough air in me to do the job!\u201d<\/p>\n

The tax payers were now gathered together and the consensus was they needed to check out what the seats inside were all about. They sent in 4 tax payers to verify what was up.<\/p>\n

One stood at the front and scanned the aisle of seats. A quick count proved that there were, in fact, 44 seats on the bus.<\/p>\n

As they passed the strong mayor driver, she said, \u201cThese seats will take you to all the new projects\u2019 sites that we plan to undertake this year. You\u2019ll be able to take a ride on the bus to see how we have kept some things the same, as well as all the new improvements that you will realize only after this bus reaches my chosen destination. It\u2019s quite an exciting ride you\u2019ll be able to take.\u201d<\/p>\n

A guy mumbled under his breath, \u201cAt this rate, we won\u2019t be going to undertake 44 projects, we\u2019ll be going to the tax payers\u2019 undertakers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 3 other tax payers held their counsel and proceeded slowly down the aisle, reading the labels on each seat. They read them aloud as they went. \u201cArboretum – $25,000.\u201d, \u201cHogweed – $10,000.\u201d, \u201cMaintenance tractor – $20,000.\u201d, \u201cPicnic Tables – $10,000\u201d, \u201cUV film on Castle windows – $12,000.\u201d, \u201cFire extinguisher trainer prop – $21,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the heck is a fire extinguisher trainer prop? What\u2019s that all about?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s one labeled, \u201cInfrastructure services \u2013 and there\u2019s no price on it. How can they do a budget if they don\u2019t tell us what the price is. Looks like someone slipped up maybe?\u201d, she commented.<\/p>\n

They continued down the aisle, reading as they went. \u201cApparatus tablet – $15,000.\u201d, \u201cSidewalk restoration – $50,000.\u201d. When they got closer to the rear, over the passenger side wheels was a seat that read, \u201cAerial ladder fire truck – $2,600,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA new fire truck? Totally paid for in one year? Really? Didn\u2019t we do that with the recreation complex? It\u2019s no wonder this bus is leaning to one side. There\u2019s a $2 million difference in air pressure in the inside tire. This needs to be corrected!\u201d the 4 tax payers exclaimed.<\/p>\n

The 4 got off the bus and were met by the fellow who had crawled under the bus to check out the pair of steel tanks under the bus. The fellow reported, \u201cI crawled under to check out the 2 tanks and pipelines. They\u2019re for water and wastewater. One says, \u201cExpenditures – $8,017,935<\/u><\/strong>. The other reads, \u201cRevenues – $8,017,934<\/u><\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d the old man questioned. \u201cThere\u2019s a buck missing? They can\u2019t even get their numbers typed up to match? Within $1? This must have been a rush job. Somebody\u2019s been pushing these designers and builders to deliver this bus in too short a time. There seems to have been too much haste to design and build it. This bus is not accurately and structurally sound!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not paying to get on this bus.\u201d stated one tax payer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not paying to get on either, until they pull this bus off the road and get it designed and built properly!\u201d declared another emphatically.<\/p>\n

A chant of, \u201cFix this bus! Fix this bus!\u201d was heard throughout the bus stop area.<\/p>\n

The strong mayor bus driver declared, to the assembled tax payers and their councillors, from her elevated bus seat, \u201cThis bus has to be on its way. We have a published schedule to keep to. We will maintain our present direction. We will move with dispatch across the bridge ahead, to our next stop at station, \u201cFebruary 9th<\/sup>\u201d.<\/p>\n

The tax payers looked up the road ahead and noticed, nearby, a single lane bridge across a very deep chasm. The sign on the bridge read, \u201cOne way only! No turning back!\u201d The chasm\u2019s name read, \u201cFebruary 1st<\/sup>\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey. Isn\u2019t \u201cFebruary 1st<\/sup>\u201d supposed to be the name for a bus stop?\u201d<\/p>\n

The strong mayor replied, \u201cAbsolutely not! February 1st<\/sup> is not a bus stop. This bus, the way I have had it designed and built, does not stop in the middle of the bridge over the chasm. Once I drive past this January 29th<\/sup> bus stop, and cross that bridge, there will be no turning back to change buses. Even if I have to drive it alone.<\/p>\n

If I don\u2019t like your suggestions, if you don\u2019t convince your councillors to all agree and make me <\/em><\/strong>change my positon, then this bus will pass over the bridge the way it is, and you\u2019ll all have to pay for your bus tickets I send out. And, they will be the amount I finally decide they will be.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tax payers were not impressed. They huddled and consulted. They made suggestions for changes and improvements to the bus\u2019s design and structure. They called their councillors over to meet with them beside the bus, and told them what they wanted them to do cooperatively. This is what they were told.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis bus cannot leave this bus stop the way it is designed and built. It must be changed. We have too many changes that are needed, to get them all fixed at this stop. To get them all amended and corrected, before the bus crosses the \u2018no-turning-back\u2019 bridge of February 1st,<\/sup> is not possible. Meeting again at the next February 9th bus stop will make no difference. It will be worse. It will be too late to turn back. She can still over-rule you, divide you apart, and get her own way eventually.<\/p>\n

This strong mayor\u2019s budget bus will not be changed, amended in design and structure enough by then. We need more time. And we need it now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the councillors asked, \u201cHow are we going to get more time? How are we going to do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

The answer was, \u201cWe don\u2019t let this bus cross that January 29th<\/sup> chasm bridge in this condition. We need to get this bus off the road. <\/strong>We need to get the strong mayor off that single driver\u2019s seat, to agree to share her power, and to do the right thing, the democratic process without a veto. She needs to demonstrate leadership that respects the wishes of our councillors and property tax paying bus riders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do we do that?\u201d was again the question.<\/p>\n

The answer was, \u201cThe councillors have to require a private meeting with her. She can bring her designers and advisers along and they need to have a serious talk together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do the councillors need to tell her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst, they need to remind her that her job is time limited. We tax payers can soon choose someone who does not need to be an artificially \u2018strong mayor\u2019 to provide democratic leadership.<\/p>\n

Then they must tell her that she will need to agree to share power. The name on the side of the bus must be changed from, \u201cStrong Mayor\u2019s Budget Bus<\/strong>\u201d, to \u201cCouncil\u2019s Budget Bus<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n

It must be done before February 1st<\/sup>, RIGHT NOW, before it leaves this January 29th<\/sup> bus stop. Once it passes over the February 1st chasm, then it\u2019s too late and this rickety, decrepit bus is past the bridge of no return.<\/p>\n

If she agrees to take this bus off the road<\/em><\/strong>, and park it back in the Township\u2019s repair yard, then everyone can cooperatively make repairs to this bus. Everyone could be consulted and work together as a team. The CAO\u2019s departments\u2019 advisers, the KPMG design and structural engineers will have time to contribute revisions and add improvements. KPMG can consider more data such as a 10-year capital forecast which should be ready very soon, and an overview consult about asset management plans that impact on this bus\u2019s design and structure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about the \u2018sunk-cost effect cognitive bias \u2019?\u00a0 a college economics major asked the assembled group.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sunk-cost what effect?\u201d someone asked.<\/p>\n

The economics major replied, \u201cThe sunk-cost effect, a cognitive bias, refers to the tendency for people to escalate their commitment to a course of action in which they have made substantial prior investments of time, money, political capital, personal credibility, self-concept or other resources.<\/p>\n

When faced with high sunk-cost commitments, people become overly committed to a certain pattern of actions even if the results are now known to be quite poor. They tend to continue to \u2018throw good money after bad\u2019, so to speak, and the situation continues to escalate.<\/p>\n

If people behaved rationally, they would make choices based on the cognitive marginal costs and benefits of their choices rather than on pride or ego or some other forces.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what does that have to do with where we are right now, here at the January 29th<\/sup> bus stop?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s got a lot of personal pride and political capital invested in her choices. She\u2019s going to be very resistant to sharing her new powers. She apparently likes the newly-found deference shown to her by others, and that, she proably believes, is a result of holding on to her strong powers and will not easily give them up.\u201d The economics major opined.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, if she doesn\u2019t get over herself, then, as the saying goes, \u2018Pride goeth before the fall!\u201d observed a pastor in the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about that bridge ahead over the February 1st<\/sup> chasm?\u201d a pessimist inquired.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s easy. The bus standards legislation says that if there is no bus on the road, no bus going over the February 1st<\/sup> chasm of no return, then that bridge no longer can be crossed by this bus.<\/p>\n

If this bus is not on the road, then the bus no longer exists<\/strong>. Therefore, there is no February 1st<\/sup> bridge that needs to be crossed. The bus standards legislation says that if there is not a Strong Mayor\u2019s bus on the road as of February 1st<\/sup>, then the bus has to have a name painted on its side saying, \u201cCouncil\u2019s Budget Bus<\/strong>\u201d. Then everyone can work together to get this bus fixed, and on a different road<\/em> where there is no sign saying, \u2018February 1st<\/sup> chasm\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat sounds too easy. All she has to do is agree to share power and to take this bus off the road,\u201d an astute young student standing with her tax payer parents commented.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. It sounds easy. It\u2019s legal. It\u2019s creative. It\u2019s not usual, but it can work for us. However, have you ever seen 5 councillors agree on anything and work together, even if it\u2019s easy and legal? Have you ever seen a politician in the enchanting position of newly acquired power willingly give it up, even if it would demonstrate an old-fashioned, cooperative, consultative type of leadership, applied in a new situation?\u201d a cynical observer commented.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019m not getting onto this bus and tour the 44 new sites the way she has put it all together for us to see. I\u2019m not going to be a happy resident when it comes to paying property taxes for something I haven\u2019t been listened to about,\u201d said a woman with a large mortgage and 3 kids in hockey, softball, swimming, and\u2026.<\/p>\n

An irascible, crotchety, bald-headed man said, \u201cI\u2019ve been paying property taxes in Waterloo Region since 1977. I was paying property taxes in Wilmot all through the 80\u2019s. 48 years later and I\u2019m still paying property taxes today. I\u2019ve had mortgage payments at 10.5%. My brother-in-law had to pay 19% for a term renewal. Raising a family over the years has been hard, sacrificing fun stuff to pay for the basics \u2013 like property taxes. Tax payers today have it no harder or easier than it ever has been.\u201d<\/p>\n

An elderly fellow beside him rubbed his chin, pondered the ground a moment, looked around, and summed it all up. He said softly, but with firmness in his tone, \u201cMaybe what any Township needs – is leadership with less hubris, and more humility?\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cA Strong Mayor\u2019s Budget Bus\u201d. The process of building a budget package is like travelling a bus route. The bus stop, where the bus is presently parked, and waiting for passengers to hopefully get on board, has a \u2018Route Schedule\u2019 sign which reads, \u201cBudget Bus Stop – January 29th\u201d.\u00a0 This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":4072,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6596","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6596"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6597,"href":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6596\/revisions\/6597"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}