Ontario city passes on transit security funds (just say NO to fear)

[GliderGuider]

From the Globe and Mail. I also heard an interview with the mayor last night on CBC's "As it Happens". We need more clear thinkers like him in public service.

An Ontario border city said "thanks but no thanks" last night to federal funding for security-risk assessments of its transit system.

Transit-Secure, a federal program through Transport Canada, had originally allocated $120,000 to Sarnia for the project, which would allow the municipality to hire a consultant to assess the terrorism risks on its 25 city buses.

Fifteen other Canadian cities were given funding for the program in April, but Sarnia's council voted 6-3 last night against receiving the funds.

"The public and the council understood that this was overkill and that we take our responsibilities seriously in protecting transit, but that this was a waste of money," Mike Bradley, mayor of the city of about 80,000, said after the council vote.

"In this post-9/11 world, everyone's afraid of being called soft on terrorism, but this isn't about being soft, it's about not spending tax dollars where it's not needed," Mr. Bradley explained in an interview.

As a part of the plan, Transport Canada pays 75 per cent of the assessment costs. But, if a city accepts that funding, it must contribute an additional 25 per cent. For Sarnia, that would mean spending $40,000, while the federal government supplies $120,000. The money would then go toward hiring a consultant to determine what's lacking in the transit system that might put commuters at risk.

Accepting free money just because it's on the table is where many cities go wrong, according to Sarnia's Mr. Bradley.

"This is often the trap that municipalities fall under: Just because you can get feds to put up the money doesn't mean you develop amnesia about whether it's really worthwhile."

I wish he was the mayor of my city.:thumbsup: