Letter published in the St Marys Journal Argus August 16, 2006
Dear Mayor Winter:
We appreciate Council taking the time to respond to the proposal put forward on behalf of the petitioners. However, we believe that Council still does grasp the implications of its recreation centre decision.
We refer you to the comments put forward by
Mel King
in his letter to the editor concerning community support.
Council never had clear mandate from the people and the 1,175 petitions received to date confirm this statement.
Finances
Deloitte Touche never recommended that you go forward. Their report solely considered where Council what funds would be required to allow the project to go forward and where the Town might be able to access these funds.
The Town had an operating loss of $ 341,000 from the 2005 FIR.
All the surplus monies Deloitte Touche identified were used to fund current operations in 2005 and still were not enough to keep the Town from red ink.
Town debt payments from the project will require the taxpayers to pay at least $ 1 million per year for 20 years even with current fundraising considered.
Aylmer and Goderich data show that the operating loss will be at least $ 400,000 per year more than our current level.
Therefore, the total cost of the project to the municipality will be at least $ 1.4 million per year.
The Town will raise $ 6.9 million in taxes in 2006 so the tax increase for every year from 2008 onwards will be at least 20% per year.
Council has no evidence to the contrary.
Grants
No municipal government would consider a project of this size without exploring whether grants were available.
The other levels of government expect to participate in major infrastructure projects.
The Superbuild and COMRIF programs were specifically designed to help Towns like ours.
You dismissed this possibility even when one of your colleagues suggested it.
Fundraising
A fundraising team needs a chance. They need a target and a receptive community.
Council’s approach makes their task much more difficult.
Aylmer and Goderich have had no discernable improvement in their economic position following the building of their projects.
Both the Galloway and Monteith reports did not link any growth improvement to the project.
Other Opportunities
Frankly, Council has no idea whether they can afford to do any other infrastructure projects.
They don’t know whether the recreation project will cost more than they estimated and they don’t know what the final interest rate will be on the loan.
If the interest rate on the complex and operating centre loans goes to 6.5% the Town is out of borrowing capacity.
The level of Town debt per household after the project is finished will be double that of any other community in southern Ontario we have looked at.
Timing
Council may have received a wonderful price. The problem remains that a great price on a Porsche only works if you can make the payments.
The Town can’t afford the payments.
Summary
Council’s response ignores the points we raised and we have lost confidence in Council’s leadership skills and desire to communicate with the petitioners.
We intend to present the full petition and register a ratepayers association with Council at the August 22nd meeting.
Yours truly
Andrew Atlin
John Munro
St Marys, Ontario