Quote:
Originally Posted by hulkrogan
I think someone truly fiscally conservative should want the $52MM earmarked for debt repayment, which personally, I'd be fine with it.
I'm finscally conservative as well, but greatly favor spending to improve the city, as I believe it has a return. Stuff like the Peace Bridge, the Library etc are all ok by me. I think we need to leverage this era of our city to create something that lasts regardless of industry changes.
What I hate is borrowing to do everything. If taxes don't go up, I'm skeptical it's for political reasons. Unless the city is running a balanced budget, taxes need to go up so we aren't forever spiralling into debt.
I'm all for finding more efficiencies, but "giving money back" when we have a pretty sizable debt really doesn't sit well with me.
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I think that being fiscally conservative doesn't mean you won't borrow money though. I obviously agree that we have to control our debt levels and prioritize projects, but at the same time borrowing (while interest rates are at historical lows) for capital projects is conservative. Labour costs are lower, materials costs are lower and the financing is lower now than it will be say in 3-4 years at the peak of the business cycle.