Finance/Policy Committee Meeting
At yesterdays FPCOW which saw even the public portion take 2 hours, followed by another in camera meeting, (which incidentally is a catered event) much of the discussion centered around the $62,000,000.00 water treatment plant.
It seems that after spending several million dollars on the process now, city council was uncertain if it is absolutely necessary to proceed with, given the high quality of Nanaimo's drinking water. Currently council had agreed to ask the public if they want to borrow $22,000,000 to fund the plant, in a referendum to be included at the time of the civic election.
Many councilors still seem unclear as to whether VIHA would really be in a position to force Nanaimo taxpayers to comply with their order to build this new $62 million plant.
During the discussions Councillor Bestwick asked if the plant could be funded from reserves, instead of borrowing, and Mr. Kenning said that the new city annex had used up all available reserves.
Councilor Johnstone also said she was uncomfortable with the idea of a referendum, as she felt the taxpayers would not support borrowing the $22,000,000. She did not explain what she meant by the comment, but it raises questions.
If you think this city council needs to challenge VIHA's authority to impose such an onerous burden on Nanaimo taxpayers where our water is perfectly safe now, you should let your counilor know your feelings.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comment will appear after moderation before publishing,
Thank you for your comments.Any comment that could be considered slanderous or includes unacceptable language will be removed.
Thank you for participating and making your opinions known.
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.