By now you may be revelling in the fact that your little bit of real estate heaven has jumped in its assessed value this year by 20 to 40 per cent. On the other hand, you could be in a state of depression because that East Side fixer-upper you were about to buy just got a little further out of reach.
Then again, you could be either Mayor Gregor Robertson or his co-chair on the city's Affordable Housing task force, Olga Ilich, realizing that what seemed difficult a few months ago-figuring out how to increase the supply of affordable housing in the city-is now near impossible.
Property values in many places in the province may be falling, but in Greater Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»they continue to climb. And without cheap land-or at least cheaper land-the prospects of Robertson meeting what he has pointed to as his primary goal as he starts his second term are slim indeed.
This is just one of the challenges local politicians are facing in the year ahead. Recall the city is staring at a $52 million deficit, which means either services will be cut or property taxes will rise-or both. And until the labour negotiations with the city's unions are settled, we won't know exactly which or by how much.
Over at the park board, the problems may be smaller but so is the budget. The park board's budget comes from the city and is about $100 million of the $1 billion the city spends each year. Reduce that by 40 per cent because of what is recovered by the park board from fees.
But the park board is starting with a problem even before they get to this year's budget. Board chair Constance Barnes reminded me they have a $1.6 million deficit from last year they have yet to take care of. Much of that short fall is due to the revenues the park board was planning on collecting for everything from golf fees to parking charges that didn't materialize due, in large part, to lousy weather.
And it didn't help that the city's shared services review managed to squeeze more than a million out of that 2011 budget. Mind you, the city did relent somewhat when the park board threatened to close toilets in some parks.
Regardless of the weather forecast, the city's budget estimates for 2012 include a note that park board revenues will drop a further $700,000 in the coming year.
That could put plans for more daycare spaces, arts programs based in vacant park field houses and more community centre after-school programs all at risk.
The school board only relies peripherally on the city's budget for shared programs such as daycare. But that is the least of its problems. You may have forgotten there is a strike going on. Negotiations did resume earlier this week, but school board chair Patti Bacchus figures both sides are so dug in it will take provincial legislation to break the jam.
Meanwhile, kids are getting their education but a whole lot of things are not getting done. That's because any significant local alterations to the education system, including changing to year-round schooling, implementing a semester system or setting up an aboriginal-focused school, all require teacher participation.
You may have noticed your kid isn't bringing home a report card because of the labour dispute. What you may not have realized is that teachers are no longer taking part in the myriad committee meetings at the board where program changes are debated and agreed to.
Bacchus says the education system is constantly changing and improving and, while the board managed without teacher presence for the first part of the year, she is "not comfortable charging ahead without teachers," particularly given the number of changes that affect the collective agreement.
So, take comfort in your new found wealth in 2012 if you've got it. But for that, the road ahead looks to be a bumpy one.
