$30,000.00 For What???

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When City Hall Writes the Cheque First, Taxpayers Pay Twice

“We pay once for the cheque — and again when the reserve is depleted and the same problems still need funding.”

Nanaimo City Council just approved $30,000 in “bridge funding” for the Vancouver Island North Film Commission (INFilm). This isn’t really a film debate.

It’s a governance debate.

A councillor asked for a deferral to get basic information — where INFilm’s funding comes from, how the money is spent, and what the “sustainable model for 2027 and beyond” actually looks like. Council voted down the deferral… then approved the money anyway.

That’s backwards.

Coun. Paul Manly argued the gap could mean INFilm losing staff. Nobody cheers layoffs. But here’s the rule City Hall keeps forgetting:

Taxpayers don’t fund payroll. Taxpayers fund outcomes.

“Jobs at risk” can’t be the entire justification. Every organization with a shortfall can use that line. The real questions are simple:

• Why is there a funding gap?

• What services disappear without this money?

• What exactly does Nanaimo get for $30,000 — in deliverables and measurable results?

• And how do we know this won’t become annual “bridge funding”?

Then there’s the funding source: a strategic infrastructure reserve. Taxpayers hear “infrastructure” and think roads, pipes, facilities — core assets. They don’t think “operating bridge money” to cover staffing gaps while an outside organization sorts out its long-term budget.

A reserve fund shouldn’t become a convenient ATM. Once Council sets the precedent, the next group with a shortfall will show up with the same pitch: “People’s jobs are at risk.”

If INFilm is truly “good value,” it should be easy to prove. Letters of support and big economic numbers are not proof. Proof is audited financials (or clear disclosure), a funding map showing who pays what, Nanaimo-specific deliverables, and a timeline for sustainability.

Here’s the fix: no cheque without a one-page accountability sheet, and if Council still wants to fund it, make it conditional — paid in tranches tied to deliverables — with a public report back by a firm date.

Taxpayers aren’t against investment. We’re against cheques first, questions later.

The sequence should be simple: information first — then the vote — then the cheque.

Jim Taylor
Voice of Nanaimo