Councillor Survey Question 5

Over the next four years, should the City spend less in absolute terms, increase spending but by less than the rate of inflation and population growth, increase by the rate of inflation and population growth, or increase faster than the rate of inflation and population growth?

Rockford Rutledge:

Spend less in absolute terms. Millions are wasted on unnecessary land, buildings and equipment that are mostly seasonal and could be privatized.

 

Robert Dumanowski:

Spending should be done with fiscal stability in mind. We are required to balance our budget. New spending on necessary items such as infrastructure and maintenance programs (ie water, sewer) is prudent. Capital spending on new items like pools etc must be measured and strategic.

 

Shila Sharps:

So right now we’re scheduled for a 4% tax increase to keep up with our debt. I’m going to advise that we have not looked at Waze of lowering our debt exhaustively that needs to be done first before any more increases.

 

Justin Wright:

In the last 5 years, the city has added 185% to its total overall debt and eliminated nearly 50% of its reserves. This is a fine line to walk, and based upon those numbers I should say spend less absolutely. However we do need to recognize that as inflation goes up, our money buys less. I would present another option, increase spending to inflation but less than population growth for the first 3 years and re-evaluate for the fourth.

 

Brad Gruszie:

I believe we should spend at a rate of inflation and population growth.

 

Immanuel Moritz:

As the population and business grow, costs will increase but the goal should be to spend less than the percentage growth.


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