Sturgeon County’s mayoral candidates don’t agree on a lot of subjects, and one of their sharpest points of disagreement is economics.
This week, the Gazette spoke to mayoral candidates Don Rigney and Tom Flynn to ask how they would manage debt and taxes in Sturgeon County.
Two facts framed both conversations. First, that the upcoming North West upgrader could add about $14 to 16 million to the county’s coffers per year in tax revenue should it come online in 2016, as reported by county administration.
Second, that the county has significant costs in its near future. A recent long-term capital plan presented to council suggested that the county had a roughly $130 million infrastructure deficit, and that, unless its situation changed, would hit its debt limit by 2017 before it finished all the upgrades and infrastructure repairs needed due to recent growth.
Flynn, broadly speaking, was concerned about debt – both in terms of dollars and infrastructure. The county has done much to prepare for the North West upgrader in recent years, he said, and that’s left smaller businesses feeling forgotten.
“We haven’t put nearly enough effort into some of the other industrial parks in the county,” Flynn said, especially when it came to making land available. He said he’d talked to many smaller corporate customers who want to set up shop but who couldn’t find room in the county’s industrial parks.
“We have to refocus a bit on the businesses that are in the county and help them along,” he said. That means getting the proper zoning, servicing and fire protection in place for these industrial parks and working with businesses (perhaps through a local business council) to find out what they need to succeed.
The county would see a big spike in its tax revenue once the upgrader comes on line, Flynn said, and had to manage it carefully. “We have to get a real steady and well planned approached to that future income.” While some would call for tax cuts, council would also have to consider debt reduction and reserve restoration.
Rigney’s focus was on taxes and cutting them. He started his campaign by promising to cut all property taxes by at least 20 per cent if elected. “I feel it could actually be higher,” he said of the cut.
He later clarified that this cut would only kick in after the North West upgrader was complete. A 20 per cent cut would cost the county about $6.14 million a year, reports county administration.
“In the last three years under the current council taxes have been raised $6.3 million or 27 per cent,” Rigney said. “That’s a huge, huge increase.” Much of this tax cash went into preparations for the upgrader.
The upgrader made a 20 per cent cut “entirely realistic and entirely affordable,” Rigney said, as it would nearly double the county’s tax base. “It looks like we’re finally going to be able to reap some of what we’ve sown,” he said. “The citizens of Sturgeon County have earned this.” The cut would also draw additional business to the county, he added.
Rigney blasted administration for its spending on road construction, which ran to about $7.3 million in 2013, or about 31 per cent of the county’s capital budget, arguing that the county could save millions by getting the private sector to build them instead.
When it was pointed out that a June 2012 report from administration suggested that the county could build a road for about 51 per cent less than the private sector ($297,000 per kilometre versus $582,000), Rigney said that administration’s numbers were inaccurate, and that they had prepared a report that favoured themselves.
Having administration write a report on its own costs was like having the fox guarding the henhouse, he said. “When the figures get manipulated, you can present whatever case you want.” Administration has taken to presenting wish-lists of demands to council, he argued, and council had been rubber-stamping them.
Flynn disagreed, saying that council spends weeks each year carefully going over budget items. “Not all members of council have attended those (budget) meetings,” he said, which was frustrating. He declined to name those council members when asked.
It’s easy to vote against a budget and say “This is all wrong, that’s not acceptable” if you haven’t taken part in making it, Flynn said. “If you feel there are some things that have to be adjusted in the budget, you need to be sitting at the table.”
Taxes have gone up, he continued, but those taxes have gone to increased services such as more road grading, a new fire prevention person, and (as of last budget) curb and gutter repair for subdivisions. “We do have to push back and have a deep review of all departments,” he added.
Next week, Flynn and Rigney will talk intergovernmental relations.
