Quote:
Originally Posted by Drybrain
Canadian cities are by law prohibited from running a deficit, so they all use creative accounting to balance the books. Overall, HRM has one of the lowest per-person debt levels in Canada. (By a big margin, too.)
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They are prohibited from passing a budget which projects a deficit.
If the year ends with a deficit the amount must be the first item to be rated in the next fiscal year.
I wrote about this in mid June and Waye Mason said I was wrong.
He was wrong and I was correct in listing the 2013/2014 operating account as a deficit of $232,000 - which came after 5 years of Kelly surpluses totalling $39 million, although I don't think that a mayor should be credited with a surplus or deficit. Nor should a mayor claim credit for a surplus.
A mayor should clearly declare the results of the fiscal year in the same way a finance minister in Ottawa and Halifax informs the taxpayers of the annual deficit/surplus. This year HRM financial staff chose to muddy the waters by issuing a carefully crafted report which left the impression that there was a surplus.
A report to Finance & Audit Cttee meeting on Wednesday has much clearer wording and mentions the dreaded 'd' word.
I'll be posting a fuller explanation of the 2013/14 deficit reporting debacle in the Business & Politics section in the next 24-36 hours.