Gibsons council has to attract new development and curtail discretionary spending to avoid sinking the Town in a sea of debt, a pair of critics told council recently.
Speaking at the March 19 council meeting on the 2013 budget, former councillor Chris Koopmans and Hammy McClymont, a candidate in the last municipal election, warned of the Town's growing projected debt during separate appearances before council.
"I would suggest we're in very dire need of new development," Koopmans said.
The 2013 budget's five-year financial plan shows general fund debt rising from about $3.7 million this year to $6.1 million in 2017. Adding the projected water and sewer fund debt, Koopmans said the Town is facing $9.7 million in debt after five years - and that does not include the "unfunded liability" of development cost charges (DCCs).
"And all the while we the taxpayers are going to have to foot the bill with debt," Koopmans said.
McClymont suggested council has been in a hurry to pass the budget.
"Does council feel the process this year was adequate, especially in regard to public input?" he asked.
While he said he was "very happy to see such a thoughtful strategic plan this year and that it was applied to the budget," McClymont noted some discretionary spending items were still included.
"It seems to me when debt looks like it's growing, discretionary does not get rubber-stamped," he said, asking if there was a point when council would take a hard stance on discretionary spending.
In response, Mayor Wayne Rowe said the "potential for debt down the road was front and centre for this council" during the budget deliberations.
"We are deeply concerned about what it looks like four years out," Rowe said. "We have a deadline we have to work with to meet our statutory requirements this year - that's why we're moving ahead. The five-year plan gets revised every year."
And while he told McClymont that he was "absolutely right: discretionary has to be looked at a lot more vigorously than it has been," Rowe also noted that of the discretionary items in the 2013 budget, "most were small."
In fact, the five discretionary items in the budget - consisting of minor park and streetscape improvements - total just over $42,000.
As for the projected debt, director of finance Ian Poole noted the total cited by Koopmans includes $2.3 million for the new RCMP building.
"The RCMP are going to pay 100 per cent of that debt repayment, so Gibsons taxpayers don't have to pay back $2.3 million of that," Poole said.
The five-year projections, he added, are subject to change as revenue sources such as grants become available.
"I don't think it's our intent to use the credit card for $9 million of debt," he said. "I don't feel we've got fat in our budget either."
On major prospects that could expand the tax base, Poole said the George Hotel is the "potentially obvious one," while a proposal for a new commercial development on Gibsons Way, close to Elphinstone Secondary School, could also be in the works, he added.
