Vancouver’s mayor is defending a decision to cut the sanitation budget and set aside $95,000 to hire a new social media manager amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kennedy Stewart told a news conference on Thursday that council is moving money around to deal with massive projected drop in revenue under the pandemic, and that sanitation is still a priority. “The focus in, and target at, one position for a person who hasn’t been hired yet is kind of a weird story to follow,” he said.
A day earlier, Global News reported that city council had chopped $125,000 from the $300,000 set aside for sanitation and street cleaning this year in its quest to balance the budget amid the impact of COVID-19.