As Common Council continues its budget deliberations tonight, Mayor Mel Norton says raising the tax rate is off the table. He wants a stable tax rate for the rest of Council’s mandate to the next municipal election.
Saint John Energy will be asked by Common Council to take over the cost of street lighting in the city which amounts to a million dollars a year. Common Councillor Susan Fullerton proposed the idea, saying Saint John Energy is a child of the city, owned by taxpayers and is prosperous. As such, it should step up to the plate and help the city out financially.
Councillor Bill Farren is opposed, arguing the time has come for Saint John to stop looking to others whether it be the federal or provincial governments and now Saint John Energy to bail it out.
Councillors Susan Reardon and Ray Strowbridge are in favour, saying there’s no harm in posing the question.
