Staring down the barrel of a quarter of billion dollars in debt, Saint John Common Council has taken steps to help put the brakes on borrowing.
A new policy could prevent council from contributing to projects the city doesn’t actually own.
Because it’s owned by a non-profit corporation and not the city, under the new guidelines, council would not have contributed to the field house currently under construction in east Saint John.
The city has earmarked just over $4 million for $26 million field house in east Saint John.
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Finance staff rolled out the new measure as part of the city’s first-ever capital budget policy.
A portion of the $4 million has already been delivered, while the remainder will still need to be borrowed by the city over the next couple of years.
Bill MacMackin is president of the Greater Saint John Field House.
Despite the new policy, he’s confident the city will deliver the remainder of the funds.
“This has been a very public project, they’ve made the contributions so far and they’ve made the announcements in the public so we’re very comfortable they’ll continue to back this project,” MacMackin states.
Gerry Lowe was the only councillor who voted against the policy, saying it’s short-sighted.
“I don’t want money abused in the city anymore than anybody else, but a facility like this, on 13 cents on the dollar, anybody who says no this isn’t the right thing that we did has to be crazy,” Lowe says.
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Deputy Mayor Shirley McAlary thinks the policy is prudent, but says it’s not binding.
“If council decides to borrow money for a capital project, whether it’s something the city owns or it’s an asset the city’s not going to own, it’s still a decision of the council,” she says.
Mayor Don Darling says this type of policy is long overdue.
“I would argue that any council or provincial government that makes decisions four years at a time those are not necessarily the best decisions,” said Darling.
The Greater Saint John Field House will be the largest of its kind in the Maritimes and will include two turf fields, a 200 metre track and a community centre with a daycare.
The completion date is slated for the fall of 2019.
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