Budget deliberations on the 2018 day to day operating budget of the city of Saint John will be horribly difficult according to Common Councillor David Merrithew who chairs the Finance Committee and Mayor Don Darling warns there are a lot of storm clouds hovering over the city.
Darling says the city is facing a $5 million deficit next year but is required to balance its books. He also warns expectations will have to change.
Borrowing money to resurface roads bothers Common Councillor Gary Sullivan. He likens it to the city using its credit card to buy everyday items like bread and milk with having to pay interest on what you borrow. Sullivan also says it takes away funding that’s needed to maintain the city’s assets.
Sullivan and Merrithew are expressing concern over allocating $600 thousand next year to redesign the intersection on Rothesay Avenue at Ashburn Lake Road and Retail Drive which can be a bottleneck. They both question the wisdom of spending all that money on design work if there’s no funding to carry out the actual construction.
