Nanaimo-Info-blog: Mayor Ruttans Response Deceitful?

Mayor Ruttans Response Deceitful?

In the January 5, 2012 issue of the Nanaimo Bulletin, Mayor Ruttan is asked whether the city can afford all of the projects being undertaken. His answer that because we have budgeted for them, therefore we can afford them strikes me as a little odd, or at least telling as to his logic. Simply becasue city staff recommends something and council rubber stamps it and puts it into a budget, does not mean the people paying the freight can actually afford it.

He also went on to say “People say they want a zero increase and our response is always, ‘OK, what are you prepared to give up first?’.”

This is the answer that I find difficult to take on face value when you consider how, this time last year, city staff and city council decided, behind closed doors to spend the equivalent of the next five years tax increases on a shiny new office for city staff.

I suspect that had the Mayor asked taxpayers last year “OK, are you prepared to give up the shiny new office for city staff in exchange for zero tax increases for the next five years”, we would have seen the existing Annex either left as is, or improved which would have eliminated the need for tax increases for either 4 or 5 years.