B3

HERB DUNCAN
The silent majority

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Let's begin with a little "week in review" to kick things off. I was encouraged by Coun. Chris Titus' plan to have four senior city officials fall under the scrutiny of a performance review. The motion received strong support from council. The review would apply to the city manager, city solicitor, common clerk and commissioner of finance. These employees are appointed by, and report directly to, common council. Several councillors called the move long overdue. Titus said, "we don't have a single piece of paper on any of our four employees and that to me is wrong." The immediate question that smacks me in the face like a cold jellyfish from the Bay of Fundy is: Why has it taken so many years to put in place performance criteria for each and every level of employment at City Hall? Folks, this is Business Basics 101 - anyone successful in business will tell you the "by guess" method of management went out with Moses. But wait, there's another jellyfish on the way. A performance report by city manager Terry Totten was due for Tuesday's council meeting, but Totten was on vacation and unavailable to present it to council. Coun. Gary Sullivan said, "I find it a little ironic that the report on performance management is late." I believe the additional sentiment that should bubble to our emotional surface is "disturbing." As a brief reminder, two of the most commonly cited issues by the voting public prior to the May municipal election were City Hall management accountability and the municipal tax rate. Now what about that tax rate, councillors?

Remember when you were a kid sitting eating your cornflakes you would see those dots puzzles on the back of cereal box? You had to connect the right dots to reveal the picture. Let's try to connect some different dots.

Conrad Black built the world's third-largest newspaper empire. Last year, Black was found guilty of diverting company funds for personal benefit and ordered to serve 78 months in a U.S. prison. Not one to sit on his hands Black began giving weekly seminars on American history to a full house, which includes prison staff and custodians. Black has found the common thread that connects most prisoners is "lack of education" and therefore a lack of socially acceptable employment opportunities.

The headline in Monday's paper read, "City police crave a fix for addicts; Officers say most of the calls they receive are related to drugs." So what's the solution? Add more police and increase the already high burden on the taxpayer or try to find the root cause of the problem?

So where do we find these drugs? Most folks that know their way around the city would probably suggest that you are more likely to find drugs in the five at-risk or vulnerable neighbourhoods. You know, the communities with their fair share of substandard housing with many folks living at or under the poverty line. What else are we likely to find in many of these communities? Would you believe a lot of folks with "lack of education" and therefore employment opportunities.

I have a boat that I keep at the Saint John Power Boat Club. The other day I decided to walk through the north end to the boat club. It's amazing what you see when you park the car and walk. No shortage of people sitting on steps, boarded up buildings as well as buildings that fall short of acceptable standards. So, what's the answer - add more firefighters and fire trucks or try to find the proper solution to the problem? As a point of interest, fire and police protection currently consumes close to 40 per cent - or almost $44 million - of the $110-million budget.

Here is a recent press release from GPI Atlantic, titled "11,000 Atlantic millionaires and 77,000 households mired in debt: Rich-poor gap grows as region loses wealth--Even though the gap between the rich and poor provinces has grown," says Kimberley Tran, co-author of the GPI report, "that doesn't mean there isn't still plenty of wealth in Atlantic Canada. The distribution of that wealth is just very uneven." But about 77,000 Atlantic households are so seriously in debt that they wouldn't be able to pay off their debts even if they sold everything they owned, including their homes. "Tens of thousands of Atlantic Canadians are suffering from severe financial stress," says Tran. "They don't have assets to draw on to weather unexpected crises like job loss, sickness, or loss of an earning partner; and they can't deal with unforeseen and sudden cash requirements for home repairs, car repairs, medications or other needs that demand urgent attention."

I don't think you would be surprised to find of those 77,000 households, limited or lack of education has been a key factor for many of these families.

Oh yes! Connecting the dots. Ireland managed to connect the dots quite nicely. In just 15 years, Ireland's economic growth pushed the country from one of Europe's poorest to one of its richest, reversing the brain drain that had plagued it since the potato famine of 1845. The country connected the dots by creating an independent and aggressive business development agency, a favourable tax structure, and, most important if not critically important, Ireland developed and maintained an educational system that met the needs of the 21st century. Isn't that what Saint John needs?

Perhaps Benefits Blueprint can assist in connecting the Saint John dots. Let me offer a line from one of my previous columns: "Take the lead by contributing and collaborating with the city and corporations to make a funding commitment to develop a scholarship program that would provide an opportunity to those who, based on financial circumstances, would not otherwise be able to pursue a post-secondary education."

Is everyone starting to see the picture?

Herb Duncan is a Saint John businessman who has followed city issues for more than three decades. He can be reached by e-mail at duncan.herb@telegraphjournal.com. His column appears on Saturday.