Saint Johners want value for their tax dollars, not Cadillac spending
JOHN CHILIBECK
PUBLIC EYE
Published Monday April 7th, 2008
Appeared on page C1
Beware of people who say you need to spend money to save money. This not only holds true for hucksters trying to peddle products, it also applies to your tax dollars.
Emboldened by modest growth and big talk, the City of Saint John is about to embark on its largest-ever spending spree. Officials say certain projects have to be built big to meet future needs. There's no talk of getting value for money; all that matters is growth at any cost.
The board of police commissioners wants to build a $20-million headquarters, but won't let the public see the station's interior designs. Nothing is set in stone, they promise.
Saint John Transit is well on its way to building a $22-million headquarters on the east side, with virtually no debate on common council as to the merits of its size or cost.
Saint John Water says $135.8 million is needed to deliver safe drinking water. To his credit, commissioner Paul Groody has suggested that water meters and a public-private partnership could lower up-front costs, but money is already being spent without these measures in place.
All told, the city wants to borrow $221 million over the next four years. Saint John's entire outstanding debt in 2007 was $103 million. Do officials really expect people to swallow that such heavy borrowing won't come back to haunt them?
Saint John has the biggest municipal operating budget in New Brunswick - $119 million. Yet every time assessments rise - which they have for the last four years - officials figure out a way to spend every last penny rather than lower the tax rate, still the highest in the province. Despite impressive growth, Saint Johners have been forced to pay more taxes for mediocre services. There's been little done to reduce operating expenses and get value for money.
Ordinary Saint Johners have not seen their salaries jump as rapidly as their tax assessments or the bills they pay.
Mayor Norm McFarlane said in his campaign kickoff he's convinced taxes are sustainable or could be lowered with an expanding tax base. He said something similar in the last election, and council promptly raised taxes after McFarlane talked to city manager Terry Totten about the city's base budget needs.
Every mayoral candidate - McFarlane, Deputy Mayor Michelle Hooton, councillors Ivan Court and John Ferguson, and Aliant employee Mike Richardson - needs to articulate how the city will pay for all these projects and what can be done to trim them.
It's also an excellent opportunity for every candidate running for a regular council seat this spring to take a stand against rampant borrowing.
It's too easy to say growth will cover it all. The city's finance commissioner, Greg Yeomans, predicted that even with an annual three per cent growth rate, the municipality would have to borrow so much it would cause an eight per cent increase in the tax rate over the next four years. You can bet both the rate and assessments will go up, a double whammy.
Rather than wait for new growth and money to pour in, the city is happy to spend taxpayers' hard-earned cash ahead of time.
Spending beyond one's means is never a good idea. Take a look at what's happening in the United States and all the people who took out mortgages when they couldn't afford the payments. The American economy is in a sinkhole because of the same mentality.
This doesn't mean Saint John should forgo improvements for safer drinking water, better roads and good policing. It's a call for frugality, thoughtful planning and value for money.
Politicians should prove the big projects have merit and explain in detail how they'll be funded with the best interests of taxpayers in mind.
That's not too much to ask when you're spending their money.
John Chilibeck is a Telegraph-Journal reporter. He writes about issues that affect the Saint John region. He can be reached at
[email protected] or by calling 645-3267. His column appears on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
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