Editor:
As a councillor on the past three councils, I have been watching the spending of reserves very closely over the past 10 years. More closely, it seems, than Mr. Henderson, who continues to take numbers out of context and mislead the public on financial matters (“Milne record dismal, says former mayor” by John R. Henderson, Letters, Oct. 5).
In 2011, at the end of my first term on council, unrestricted reserves held by the District of Sechelt were $9,770,559. In 2014, at the end of my second term, and after three years of John Henderson’s spending and accounting, the reserves were only $5,460,828. The reserves dipped in 2015 when the waste water facility came on stream and construction bills needed to be paid. 2015 also saw the District spend approximately $500,000 on the Seawatch sinkhole situation – despite the fact that Mayor Henderson had declared that issue was fixed in 2013. This council has been cautious with the use of reserves and at the end of 2017 unrestricted reserves were $4,950, 971 – only $510,000 lower than when we came into office. The financial picture is even more clear when considering total surplus and reserves: from $12,626,365 in 2011 down to $5,939,369 after three years of Mr. Henderson and stabilized at $5,956,188 in 2017.
All this information is available on the District of Sechelt website under For the Record. This is a great source for facts and information to counter the political spin of electioneering. This council has established a Financial Sustainability Plan to ensure that we do have the capital reserves to deal with roads and other infrastructure in the future.
Facts matter when dealing with financial issues.
Truth matters when considering who to vote for on election day, Oct. 20.
Alice Lutes, Sechelt Councillor
