Saint John Considers Ideas To Address Deficit

Tolls on city streets for non-residents, higher parking rates, and major cuts to community grants.

Those are some of the more than 60 ideas Saint John is considering to balance its books in 2021 and 2022.

City manager John Collin gave council a high-level overview of the proposed initiatives at Monday’s meeting.

Other ideas include freezing salary and wage budgets, closing an arena, increasing parking fees, reducing winter street and sidewalk maintenance, and charging fees for police and fire response.

“I think these aren’t just depleting cuts,” said Coun. David Hickey. “These are devastating and debilitating ones to a large extent.”

Saint John’s short-term financial support from the province is set to run out next year. However, council is considering asking the province to extend next year’s funding into future years.

Structural Deficit Project At $11 Million

Collin said the city is facing a projected deficit of $11 million a year in 2021 and 2022, but that is based on several assumptions, including a growth rate of 1.5 per cent.

The proposed initiatives target between $14 million and $16 million in combined revenue and operating cost reductions.

Coun. David Merrithew said the “exhaustive” list of ideas shows how severe the city’s financial situation is.

But Merrithew, who chairs the city’s finance committee, said Saint John cannot become financially sustainable just by making cuts.

“We need municipal reform,” Merrithew said. “We need a bigger piece of that pie of taxes collected in our city.”

The province has committed to reviewing local government property tax policy as part of the financial sustainability plan.

Deputy Mayor Shirley McAlary says the city should start making cuts in 2020 and not wait until 2021/2022.

— Brad Perry (@BradMPerry) October 7, 2019

Collin said issues like municipal reforms, property tax reforms, regional services and regional cost-sharing are paramount to addressing the city’s long-term financial sustainability.

“If we do not address or solve, through transformational reforms, these and other issues, we will never solve the structural deficit,” he said.

Mayor Don Darling said the city is “in a crisis” and he does not believe the proposed initiatives go far enough.

“I have believed, for a long time now, we need to radically restructure,” Darling said. “We have a significant cost problem and I don’t see that adequately being addressed.”

Darling said workers’ wages, benefits and pensions need to be examined, adding they count for $90 million of the city’s $162-million operating budget.

As the city prepares its 2020 budget over the coming weeks, Darling said they need to work together to tackle the barriers which have been holding them back.

Common Council did not make any decisions on the proposed initiatives on Monday night. City staff must develop them in more details before bringing them back to council.