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Resolving the new year's problems

There's a raging - okay, simmering - debate among mental health professionals, nosey busybodies and armchair quacks about the benefits or harm of making New Year's resolutions.
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There's a raging - okay, simmering - debate among mental health professionals, nosey busybodies and armchair quacks about the benefits or harm of making New Year's resolutions. In the pro-resolution camp are those who fall back on platitudes such as, "No pain; no gain. Without setting goals you never accomplish anything. If you don't know where you're going you're nowhere," and other such nonsense.

The no-resolution camp posits the simple truth that the vast majority of people have virtually no reserve of resolve. In other words, all they're doing is setting themselves up for yet another in the unending string of failures in their lives, so why bother. Life deals each of us enough setbacks over which we have no control; why add to the misery by burdening ourselves with more baggage of failure?

Having feet firmly in both camps, I have, over the years, moderated my own resolutions, aiming for targets even I could reach. For example, recognizing the reality of the holidays and the cornucopia of seasonal indulgence, I resolved some years ago to finish all the leftover chocolate in the house no later than the middle of January. I not only succeeded but beat my self-imposed deadline, something Mr. Barnett wishes I could do more often for him.

Over the years, I've honed my resolutions down to one: I resolve to make no resolutions. Once again this year, I succeeded handsomely, with the expected, annual boost to my self-esteem. Those who know me recognize this model as the genesis of my self-esteem generating seminars for others, the patented Start Smoking series that guarantees - and rarely fails - to get you smoking and keep you smoking after a single weekend retreat. Hey, everybody has to succeed at something.

Being a guy who clearly wants to see people succeed and who believes, kind of, in New Year's resolutions, it's not beyond the scope of my empathetic caring to offer resolutions for others. Yes, I know, generous to a fault.

As a group, I'd really like to see our mayor and council succeed. No, really. I have a deep respect for their tireless work; if they didn't do it, you or I might have to. Imagine yourself having to listen to some of the drivel they're assaulted with at public question time without making raspberry noises or throwing your Official Muni Water Bottle at the misinformed, cretinous, concerned citizen - columnist - droning on about what a loser you are. Sends chills up my spine.

Frankly, I'm concerned the way things are going none of them will be re-elected this November. So, offered with an open heart and the best of intentions, here are five resolutions I think they should adopt to turn their fortunes around in the next 10 months.

RESOLVED: Axe the $7 million drive-up visitors' centre idea. This is a no-lose proposition. It's designed to solve a problem that hardly exists, a problem that ought to be resolved by the private sector - property managers - who created it in the first place and a problem virtually no one who's going to vote against you cares about.

If you build it, it will create yet another white elephant that sucks operating funds like a vampire, expands the muni payroll and adds to the budget hole you have to keep raising property taxes to fill. Even if someone "gives" you a thoroughbred race horse, it'll still eat you out of house and home.

RESOLVED: Stop being so petulant about pay parking. Yes, it's a good thing... in theory. But jeez, only an idiot would keep fighting with a child to eat boiled brussels sprouts when there are so many more appetizing ways to prepare them.

Your current pay parking strategy is a dismal failure. That's DISMAL FAILURE. It's okay. The only people who never fail are people who never do anything. The key to success is to admit failure and fix the damn thing. People will pay for parking. Exhibit "A": Level 4 of the conference centre. It costs $58 a month to park there and the spaces are sold out.

I've been hearing you say you'll "consider" a resident parking pass for, oh, ever. Well, stop considering and start doing. People will pay reasonable amounts on a longer-term basis; they won't stand for being dinged every single time they want to go to the village to buy something. If you believe pay parking is a good thing - it is - get rid of the free parking and offer a monthly or semi-annual pass for residents and frequent users. Something is better than nothing.

RESOLVED: Have some faith in your employees. I've had any number of muni workers tell me they're willing to share the pain, forego their "contractual" pay raise or - gasp - even take a small cut if that's what's needed to right the good ship Whistler and quell the uprising villagers. Yet, you continue to react as though they'll all join a union, hit the picket line and start singing The Internationale if you even broach the subject with them. Personally, I'm beginning to believe this irrational behaviour is being driven by those with the most to lose, who are, ironically, those who make the most.

And let's be honest. The wage/benefit equation for running muni hall is, well, unsustainable. Eventually it will lead to layoffs and/or firings. I suspect your workforce would rather have a good job with less generous remuneration than play layoff lottery. Why not ask them?

RESOLVED: Transit cost is simply out of control and no amount of fare increase is going to fix the problem. You know it and I know it. This is a cost problem, not a revenue problem. According to B.C. Transit's numbers, operating transit in Tiny Town cost a mere $6.1 million in 2007; it's now costing $13 million. Worse, in 2007, the cost to Whistler taxpayers was $.9 million; this year's projection is $4.1 million. Oh yeah, that's with a lot more buses and no appreciable increase in ridership.

And then there is the law of unintended consequences. When it starts costing me $5 for a round-trip to the village - with all the attendant increase in time, effort and inconvenience required to take transit - that makes $8/day to park in lots 1-3 seem like a bargain. Where's the incentive to take transit? Fewer riders, less fare revenue, larger shortfall, increased fares... even dogs instinctively understand feedback loops.

RESOLVED: Nice to have isn't the same thing as need to have. It would be nice to have a jazzed-up Rainbow Theatre, notwithstanding Village 8 can't fill the seats they have. But the last thing we need to do is spend $500k of any variety of tax money on the Whistler Film Festival.

Okay, I've done my part. You do yours. Or maybe all of you should run for mayor.