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Budget dialogues

Dec 4^th meeting

What are the core services?

Unsustainable with pulp mill debt

A word from the politicos and then the accountants

The “numbers” are online as a PDF file

or go to this page and download 2005-09 financial plan (site is framed)

If you can read accountanese than this is a good over view of city economics

If you are looking for social or community values -- won’t find them in Kumar speak

The Pulp mill contributed about 2.5 M$ of the 20M$ city budget. Now it is gone.

We’re left with some 12M$ in debt that has to be both serviced and paid down

While interest was about 350T$ in ‘03 the principal remained same

Note 350T$ is about what the 9-1-1 service cost in 2003 and half what the airport ferry cost us

“It is your call”

Higher taxes? Deep cuts to services?

Which services then?

This Council sees taxing homeowners as only option as business already taxed too much

The message they wanted to hear judging from the text given was that cuts must be made and so tell us where?

Unsustainable?

Golf course drains 200-400T$/ yr (sell it?)

Airport Ferry is another perennial loser in 500T$ range (Privatize it?)

Core services?

This council sees city government as ‘like a business’ and thus rhetorically asked ‘what business are we in?’ Sewers/ garbage/ water/ -- then roads --- then protection – and finally ‘quality of life’ (read parks and swimming pools etc

Needless to say this “team” sees things like the 800T$/ year swimming pool as a frill that will have to be cut (but not the airport ferry of course)

Future Direction?

Suggestions from audience

1) One person suggested a flat increase of 100$ ‘per property’ as a mechanism for raising 1M$

But a senior said could not afford any more tax increases – period

2) Both the City reps and some public members suggested that we ‘grow’ ourselves out of this – which meant hire an Economic development officer or just wait til 2008 when container port starts kicking in

3) Some social activists in audience did not like the ‘bottom line’ approach and asked that social indicators and goals be brought into the dicussion

Whining by Council	‘We are not to blame’
	About 25% of discussion period was taken up by politicos defending themselves from misinformation etc in media. Funny these people spend so much time behind closed doors and yet they are puzzled why people don’t know their true positions on port, pulp mill etc

Created by LG on 12/6/2004

Last updated on Monday, December 06, 2004

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What are the core services?

“It is your call”

‘We are not to blame’