'Cos you're sure as shit payin' for it...
It started small in late 2004 when former mayor David Miller was pretty much embarrassed into dealing with the rash of guns and gang violence in the city.
Back then, the city’s Community Safety Plan had a mere 10 staff and less than $600,000 in operating funds attached to it to deal with seven priority neighbourhoods
Nevertheless, it took no time to ascertain that with the Millerites running the show, their plan would be short on tough love and long on feel-good programs.
That quickly became obvious when one of the first public acts of the Community Safety Secretariat was to hold a community safety conference featuring an Australian faith healer chanting a song to remove “barriers” — while drumming loudly to accompany herself.
Hey... it gets better.
There is no longer a Community Safety Secretariat. That appears to have been folded into an entire Community Resources section (of the Social Development, Finance and Administration dept.) with 42 staff and a $6.2 million budget this year.
I got nuthin'.
