Mayoral candidate Bob Foster ran into some tough questions when he brought his spending cuts message to Belwood hall on Monday in the second of three all candidates debates – and Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj was also pressed for answers from an audience of over 100 people.
Foster began his introductory speech by again blaming the township for an expensive roundabout and misleading the public about the township debt.
“This township government has a serious spending problem,” he said. He again cited Bissell Park in Elora as a huge expense for taxpayers.
“I’m convinced we can run this township for less than $25-million dollars,” Foster said, proposing a hiring freeze, eliminating five employee positions through retirement, and a moratorium on borrowing so the township can pay down its debt.
But Ross-Zuj answered Foster’s charges instead of talking about accomplishments council had in the past four years.
She said the township received $6-million in grants for roads and bridges infrastructure, plus work on the Fergus Sportsplex and theatre.
“All of this did not cost the township one single penny of taxes,” she said. “We have not added to the debt in the past four years.”
She explained the township will have to borrow money for a new Fergus water tower and Elora sewage treatment plant, both of which are needed by residents and both of which will be paid for by development charges. Again, she said, no tax dollars will be used to pay for them.
As for Bissell park, with no grants the project has been dropped. As for the roundabout, that was a county project she explained for the second meeting in a row that the township had no costs attached to it.
She also said the province has slashed the township operating budget, and without making cuts last year, the tax rate would have faced an automatic 5% hike. Instead, council found ways to cut and keep the the tax hike lower. But, she said, there are more provincial cuts coming and the new council will have to deal with them.
“It’s not going to be business as usual,” Ross-Zuj said.
But one resident charged the township has spent “nothing in Belwood.”
Ross-Zuj cited a number of roads and bridges that have been built and repaired in West Garafraxa, two area bridges at $2-million each, and road work on Sideroad 20 the 6th Line, and the 7th line.
“We’d all like to see more,” she said.
The resident wanted to know about spending for the village.
Ross-Zuj explained a bridge in the village received repairs this year, and there is paving scheduled there for next year.
George Mochrie told Foster the mayoralty race is getting to be a close one, and he wants more specifics.
“I want to make sure we get what we think we’re getting,” he said.
Mochrie said the township has huge projects with roads and bridges and there are “demands everywhere. Specifically, what are you going to cut.”
Foster said there are “a number of soft spots.” He cited snow plowing by contractors at the Sportsplex and in downtown Fergus for snowbank removal, and said there are a number of projects that could be done ‘in-house” instead of hiring consultants. He cited hiring a consultant for $50,000 for four Fergus parks, and he has caught township employees using township trucks in downtown Guelph getting coffee. He said he has followed truck drivers who cruised aimlessly.
Another resident charged that Foster is unresponsive to ratepayers.
“I’ve phoned you many times and I never got a return call,” the man said. He then asked, “Are you going to give back 20% of your wages?”
The resident said he had checked the minutes of council and committees, and Foster has missed 12 meetings since January.
“That’s simply not true,” Foster said.
The resident was undeterred, though.
He asked, “Where are you going to find the time to be our mayor when you can’t find the time to be our councillor?
Foster said he never missed a budget meeting, and he would devote his full time to the mayor’s job.
Council candidate Vinnie Green, from the audience, asked Ross-Zuj about the township finances.
She noted township Treasurer Wes Snarr had been on the local cable TV channel that morning and stated Centre Wellington is the envy of every township in the county because it did not have to borrow any money to take advantage of infrastructure grants and most of them did have to borrow.
“We have not added to our debt in the last four years,” she said, adding, “We’ve already started reducing operating costs.
She said council is working through a strategic planning process, and, “if something has to go” it will start there, and include consultation with the public.
“It just has to be done as a team,” she said.
Foster, though, said when he got on council, the treasurer could not answer about total debt when he asked.
Ross-Zuj replied she had the financial numbers with her that night, and anyone who wanted to could look at them.
Mochrie again had a question for Foster. He said Foster is offering “good sound bites” but, “You’ve got to get more specific” about spending cuts.
Foster said cutting five positions would save about $500,000, through attrition, and a financial review of the number of employees needed “has never been done.”
He said the township takes in $25-million and he believes it can run on $21- or $22-million. He said he is not opposed to the sewage treatment plant, for which council has approved borrowing for next year. But, he said, the township has to aggressively pay down its debt.
“I’ve been very clear,” he said.
In their closing remarks, Ross-Zuj said, “We have proven results for the council and are very proud” of its accomplishments.
As for the charges of overspending, “It’s important that you have the right information.”
Foster said the township has not been living within its means and asked for “a clear mandate” to make changes.
