Vancouver City Council

MOTION ON NOTICE

Submitted by Councillor Sullivan for the Regular Council meeting of April 20, 2004.

1. Slot Machine Revenue

MOVER: Councillor Sullivan
SECONDER: Councillor

Whereas,

City Council recently dealt with the re-consideration of Celebration and Community Service Grant Requests.

In the Celebration Grants category staff worked with a voluntary committee of highly regarded citizens to vet the proposals.

The staff and citizens group recommended that 3 groups receive $1,500 and 14 groups receive no funding.

Despite these recommendations Council raised the grants to $2,000 and approved every one of the applicants who applied.

In the Community Services category staff provided recommendations that several groups not receive funding for a variety of reasons such as providing inadequate services to clients and taking on downloading from the provincial government.

Despite these recommendations Council approved all the grants that applied for re-consideration.

Councillors claimed during the meeting that this money was slot machine revenue and framed the motion in such a way as to make explicit that by accepting the grants the organizations would be complicit in this Council's decision to undertake a major expansion of gambling through slot machines.

Last month this same Council refused to include any slot machine money in city revenue projections on the grounds that it could not be counted on.

In making these decisions this Council has undermined the integrity of our professionalized granting system and does not honor the fact that all city revenues belong to all citizens and must be spent in accordance with good policy and proper procedures.

Therefore, be it resolved

That no additional expenditures be made in anticipation of slot machine revenue until we are certain we will receive it.

No more slot machine revenue be spent without proper policy and procedure approved by Council.

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