Incoming city councillors should be in much better shape than their predecessors, thanks to some tough financial maneuvering by the outgoing council.
The last council inherited deep financial challenges, including a $10 million structural deficit which was eliminated in last year’s financial sustainability report.
Outgoing councillor David Merrithew served as the chair of the city’s finance committee. He says cutting that structural deficit was among council’s biggest accomplishments the past few years
Now he believes the city is ‘on the right side of the fence.’
“We are in a position to grow the city,” Merrithew said. “You can feel the growth, you can feel it out there. You can see it going out, but you can feel the enthusiasm out there.”
He added he’s keen to see the results of the recent census, which could help the city procure a larger chunk of infrastructure funds if it shows population growth.
However, Merrithew adds the incoming councillors will have several key tasks on their to-do list, the most important of which will be to continue pushing the provincial government to follow through on its promise of municipal tax reform.
He says getting those changes across the finish line would be a ‘game changer’ for the city.
“You haven’t seen it in over 50 years. it needs to be reformed,” said Merrithew.
He says regional amalgamation isn’t necessary, but shared services will be key. He believes the city also needs to be able to get a dividend from its utilities.
Merrithew says arbitration reform is also important, as the city’s wages continue to outpace its revenue.
“Some of (the unions) haven’t gone to arbitration every time, but the threat of arbitration has been very lucrative,” he said. “That needs to change.”
There’s now a wage escalation policy in place, which Merrithew thinks should keep wage costs more in line with the Consumer Price Index.
Moving forward, Merrithew believes his council has left the newcomers with a clear roadmap moving forward. Speaking directly to the upcoming group, he asks them to follow the road his council members have paved for them.
“Pay attention to the policies that we’ve made, don’t spend more than you make. Put a little money away for a rainy day, that type of thing,” said Merrithew. “Secondly, listen to the staff that we have at city hall. Senior staff are marvelous, smart, young, innovative people. Gotta pay attention to them.”
Merrithew says one project he was happy to see cross the finish line while he was still at the council table was approval of the Fundy Quay project.
Overall, he looks back at his time on council as a period where the city managed to accomplish some major goals – though there is still quite a bit for the incoming council to take on.
“I do believe we’ve come a long way. It’s not finished yet,” he said. “Pay attention to where we started, pay attention to your staff, and just put good, common-sense, data-based decisions in place.”
Merrithew says his nine years around the council horseshoe were rewarding, and while he says ‘never say never’ about a future return to municipal politics, he adds ‘it’s time for someone else to take the reins.’
