I think it is very difficult for some property owners to pay their property taxes. The main reason for this being the increased values of their homes which impacts their taxes. In order to maintain services the City must tax as a City in BC cannot generate revenue. Council looks at the budget very carefully and their deliberations are available for people to watch. As the City grows we need to increase various staffing positions such as IT, bylaws, police and fire services also require additional personnel. This has a direct impact on taxation. We have aging infrastructure we must replace this the 1 percent asset management increase yearly. This will help offset a very large tax increase in the future. The cost of materials for some projects have doubled all which require a funding source. We need to attract business and industry to the City as this lessens the tax burden on property owners.

presently the taxes have been held to a reasonable level.

Again depends on who you ask. For the first two years we were increasing taxes to try and catch up with the low taxes the last council passed which only delayed the tax increases to a later year. Each year the City passes a 5 year budget that must be balanced. That is the law. Our taxes increases are shown to the public each year in our budget deliberations. It’s open and transparent and done over a number of months. Taxes pay for services and a growing city needs more services, more police officers, better active transportation, More security and services in the downtown area, more infrastructure work and repairs, more parks and services, more fire halls, more fire fighters more fire fighting equipment. More garbage trucks and more workers to manage the extra services. Personally I would like to see our tax increases in the 3-4% area. I think that amount is sustainable.

Although I have a career in teaching, I, like many other residents of Nanaimo , am struggling with the rising costs of living and finding it difficult to make ends meet. The rising costs of taxes is something that city council can help to control, and I would advocate for a minimum one year freeze on increases to property taxes if I am elected. According to reports, property taxes have increased approximately 18.5% in the past 4 years. To support and retain residents and businesses within Nanaimo, a tax freeze increase would allow for some financial “breathing room”.

No, the rate is not sustainable. The City needs to shift to outcome based budgets and five year financial plans so spending is directed at strategic goals. For this reason, I have not voted in favour or every City or RDN budget.

Yet the first thing this last council did was give themselves a raise

Hardly anyone feels they are being taxed at the right rate at anytime. When taxes are reduced for political gain, the bill comes due down the road. The longer we put of the actions we need to take on the climate crisis, affordability and homelessness, the more expensive the solutions will be.

I am frequently hearing from property owners that property tax increases are not sustainable at the rate seen in 2022 (6%).

The tax increases that were seen over recent years were necessary to make up for lost ground because of very irresponsible 0% and sub 2% tax increases during the previous term. Those years of very little or no tax increases did not keep up with baseline inflation, or factor in a billion-dollar infrastructure deficit Nanaimo has because of past development practices. These irresponsibly low tax increases created a long-standing problem that this current council had to deal with. I believe that despite the challenges of the pandemic and increasing inflation, this current council responsibly navigated fiscal challenges, limiting tax increases as much as possible and setting the city on a path towards a more sustainable taxation rate.

Nanaimo’s tax take increased by a massive $18M between 2018 and 2021 during the term of this Council. Much of that increase has resulted from unnecessary increases to staff numbers, and staff salary and wages on Council (with the number of managers earning more than $150,000 ballooning) – rather than on concrete improvements to the community.

The city needs to implement measures that I successfully helped put in place in Australia, such as capping staff levels, regular department efficiency audits, and a review of the necessity of staff positions before they are blindly filled when vacancies occur. These steps got taxes back under control there, and will also work in Nanaimo.

Councillors also need to do their part to reign in reckless spending. The community has been tightening its belt with expenses, but the current set of Councillors has not done the same. While hiking property taxes on residents, some Councillors have claimed during the current term personal expenses as high as $9,000 and $10,000 in one year. This wasteful spending is an insult to taxpayers who are struggling to make ends meet.

The current City council has made tax increases every year which total 18.5 percent. These increases are not a true reflection of the total cost increases that each resident is facing when you combine the city tax increases with the increases from the hospital, regional district, school, etc.. The actual cost to the residents of Nanaimo is much much higher. This is unacceptable practice to continue to reach into the taxpayers pockets to look for funds. The city needs to look within its own budget to address this issue. The city has 84 employees that make over 100k and that does not include the fire department salaries. I think the city needs to look within to save the residents of Nanaimo money on their taxes.

This is a tough one and of course so dependent on your circumstances. What I would say about tax increases is that we wrestle with and debate thoroughly every increase we ask of you. The City is subject to the same inflationary pressures we’re all feeling. Ex. the cost of steel has risen 65% and labour shortages and supply chain issues are leading to project delays.

Fixed income families and seniors face the greatest pressure from tax increases and it’s always with them in mind that we carefully consider the impact of city budgeting.

Audited financial statements show the City of Nanaimo spent $181 million of your money the last fiscal year, 2021. That is a 9% increase from $166 million in 2020. With more recent inflation, including wage demands, the 2022 expenditures are expected to be substantially higher. If elected I intend to watch dog Council spending and move motions to remove waste.

Large budgets often contain unnecessary, wasteful spending that only benefit special interest groups.
Control of spending must be Council’s immediate priority. Then, it must encourage investment and spur business expansion within a sustainable community that ensures good job creation and a greater quality of life for all its residents.

The issue is not about the rate of tax increases – the issue is of employment and pay. If elected, I will remove barriers for people in the area of hiring and employment.

Nanaimo is one of the fastest growing Cities in BC, so we have to accept that the cost of building and maintaining infrastructure, and of providing services to over 100000 residents, is bound to increase. Nanaimo is not exempt from inflationary pressures. The City’s budgetary process is thorough and every expenditure category is carefully examined.

It is reasonable to expect there is going to be certain rate increases as the cost to provide those services in terms of wages, materials, transportation, energy, etc. increase. I believe we need to consider how we manage tax rates as property values fluctuate and not use a hair-trigger approach. With the rise of interest rates, the housing market has cooled off to a degree and prices have stabilized slightly. We need to be very mindful of how property taxes affect the quality of life for a large segment of our population.

I generally do not advocate for austerity budgets as they tend to have short and long term negative consequences in the local economy. I do advocate prudence, spending tax dollars judiciously, and sometimes creatively, to address the priorities of the residents.

I do believe we need to be more effective at mobilizing the Union of BC Municipalities to exert pressure on provincial and federal governments for transfers on higher ticket and essential services such as local health care.

There are also major imbalances in how dollars are allocated based on the number of residents served in our regional catchment area versus south of the Malahat.

Every Council would love to deliver 0 tax increase, however this would be fiscally irresponsible. 1% is required every year for asset management, and most employee contracts are an average of 2% wage increase, plus costs of police and fire, both wages and infrastructure etc. Unless we are making cuts somewhere there is a need for a 3% increase and that is without adding projects or new initiatives.

Before 2021 and 2022, tax increases were moderate or negligible. That’s partly because previous councils did not keep tax increases to baseline inflation. In the last two years, house values have increased and so have property taxes. The pandemic also increased costs at all levels of government. Additionally, the rate of inflation has spiked. That’s affecting the cost of all the supplies and services that the city needs to pay for. This is not sustainable, especially for homeowners on fixed or low to medium incomes.

The city needs to be careful with spending, ensure that money is not wasted and that residents get good value for the tax dollars that are being spent. I have extensive experience managing and monitoring budgets and if I am elected I will work hard to ensure that taxes are not wasted.

Given the rate of inflation today, the answer is no, the rate of tax increases is not sustainable for local taxpayers. Food costs have risen beyond reason and so has everything else we need to keep our families going. People can’t keep up and their standard of living is losing ground. This affects not only families but business, development and the general prosperity for family. I think we need to be very careful how much we increase taxes and try to do as much as we can keeping the taxes as low as possible.
My history as the Mayor of Summerland was to encourage keeping property taxes low. In my first term, we kept the tax increases to no more than 2% and we still got major projects completed. The old phrase of doing more with less must apply here.

Nanaimo Residents have suffered from continual property tax increases which is NOT sustainable! It has already created an exodus from our city to other communities. This has been fueled by the 19% tax increase over 4 years. It has been compounded by the increase of other services as well. Water by 27.5%, Sewer 16.66% and Garbage by 28.42% over the same 4 year period! C’mon man!

No, it’s not. I know that our population is increasing and straining on resources; however I’d like to see if there’s another way than asking people for money when they are already struggling.

I think the question is where are these tax dollars being spent, and are they being used for the benefit of the majority of citizens in Nanaimo.

Should have been kind to people before increasing taxes especially during this post Covid times.

Recent years have seen tax increases of over 5%. This is partly due to the fact that in the previous term, Council mandated rates of 1%, 0%, and 1.5%. This was popular but counter-productive, as the city did not bring in enough money to provide expected services or to match the rate of inflation. We have been digging out of that hole since. Unfortunately our citizens are now dealing with high inflation and cost of living, and are struggling. We must therefore limit taxation as much as possible. Taxation must cover infrastructure needs and inflationary costs borne by the city. We need to focus on funding basic services to our citizens of water, sewer, road maintenance, and police and fire services. Unnecessary projects must be put on hold until the economy settles. A tax rate above the rate of inflation will not be palatable or acceptable.

I disagree with the method of taxing this year. While I think taxes are important, I don’t think it’s appropriate to double taxes after attempting to provide relief the previous year.

Nanaimo Residents have seen a Tax Increase of between 16 to 18% over the past 4 years with many Residents experiencing much higher Tax Rate increases. Do Citizens genuinely feel they have received value for this dramatic increase in their taxes? I would venture the vast majority do not believe so.

Metral Drive is currently approximately $1.4 Million over budget for a project that was already far more expensive than it needed to be.

This is why I want to push hard for the “My Tax Money Nanaimo” Smartphone App / Website. With it, Residents would be able to see the projected costs for proposed projects, along with the City’s Current Budget, Debt, Reserve Fund, and Projected Property Tax increases for the project.

I believe that making Nanaimo into a “Smart City” following the principles of “Donut Economics” which are integral to the City’s new Official Community Plan, will result in spending far more money than what would be required to run the City without adherence to a purported “Sustainable Agenda”, developed by a British Economist and endorsed by the Unelected World Economic Forum (WEF).

Nanaimo Taxpayers should not foot the bill for plans cooked up by Unelected Global Elites.

We have aging infrastructure which must be replaced and we have been taxing 1 percent yearly to help offset those costs as new improvements are required. We also need to budget approximately 2 percent for the collective bargaining for employees, It costs money to run our recreational services and if people want both our pools to remain open we need dollars to do this. People want the waterfront walkway this is a very expensive project and I believe the City has done well by breaking it down into sections. I think this is a project which needs to go to referendum as the cost will be well over 50 million just to do the Departure Bay portion. We needed to add more police officers and firefighters to the City as they were under resourced and this had an impact on taxation,

people are hurting financially because of this long and drawn out pandemic so a more conservative approach to governing our city’s expenses and better monitoring the cost overruns of infrastructure projects is crucial.

Yes, I believe we have done that. Anyone who follows the work of council during our budget deliberations would know that we take this work seriously and look at each and every business plan brought forward by staff with a fine tooth comb. Some we choose and some we don’t. Through that process keeping tax increases to a minimum is top of mind.

The amount of money that has been, and is proposed to be spent on beautification projects is astounding. The fact is, the city of Nanaimo needs to deal with the crime and homeless/mental health crisis before directing major funds and attention towards certain services. Of course, I am not saying to cut all funding on recreation opportunities and services etc., I just believe that finding and funding solutions to crime and social issues should be a major priority for this city.

The City needs to shift to outcome based budgets and five year financial plans so spending is directed at strategic goals.

Trees have been cut without reason.many of the new bike lanes are crammed between parked cars and unsafe. Nothing done to reduce poison car emissions a d with the new hotel at the end of museum.wsy it will get worse9

I support active transportation infrastructure like sidewalks and bike paths. When you redo road surface and subsurface utilities, it makes sense ans saves money to install this infrastructure when the workers, machines and materials are already engaged. the inflationary costs on everything are squeezing tax payer and city budgets alike.

Taxpayers are frequently telling me they are not really seeing value for their tax dollars.

Our city is rapidly growing with changing demographics. We require an infrastructure that not only meets the growing and changing needs but also can withstand the increasing pressure of extreme weather events that come with a changing climate. Previous councils kept the taxation rate below the base rate of inflation, leaving a gap in infrastructure investment that this current council had to fix to meet the needs of our growing city. Also, during the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, we kept up with public investment to ensure more stable employment conditions for workers.

No. This has not been a fiscally responsible Council.

The City continues to rely on the developers to pay for all new services when permitting new construction activities. The City has not been responsible in it’s ability to save the proper amount of funds to then upgrade the aging infrastructure of the existing services it is responsible for and has put forth a plan to increase the tax base by increasing density to compensate for this shortfall. This is not a practical solution because it only kicks the can down the road.

As noted above, a number of the infrastructure projects have been impacted by market conditions, necessitating further financing to complete. While cost overruns are never ideal, I’m confident the infrastructure is worthwhile. I believe the City offers an amazing compliment of Parks and Rec services that our community generally supports paying for.

Roads are in disrepair, public safety is in doubt. Special interest groups receive too much money from taxpayers. Priorities are out of whack. “It is real easy to spend other peoples’ money. Some politicians (like the current majority on Council) can not stop spending our money.”

I think more can be more done in this area. With proper community consultation – and developing a better sense of what the broad citizenry wishes for – there can be improvement in this area.

While I believe the City has performed well in the maintenance of its assets and services, there is no escaping the fact that the costs of maintaining more services, modernizing assets and introducing new standards and technology must be constantly reviewed.

I would say the City has done a reasonably good job but missed the mark on some of the more pressing issues of concern to local residents. There is measureable value in feeling safe in our homes, having access to a home to feel safe in, feeling safe to move about on our streets, and having access to support services when we need them.

When we dig into the more challenging areas such as public safety, quality of life for our homeless and bordering-on-homeless, economic insecurity, emergency preparedness, and the climate crisis which we are squarely in. Imagine how the Lytton residents feel after the heat dome last year and east coast residents are feeling in the wake of Fiona. We need to reassess our priorities and how we spend those dollars collected. It is an exercise in risk-benefit analysis, tax burden versus quality of life, for ourselves and others in our community.

We also need to think about how the tax burden is distributed. My elderly mother who lives entirely on her Canada Pension cheques and Old Age Security experienced a hefty tax increase this year even with the grant for seniors.

Every year we have gone through the budgeting process, keeping in mind a operating through a pandemic. We made adjustments to property tax payments, patios were created for restaurants, and we kept our infrastructure contracts to keep people employed. The financial budgeting is the most important task and decision making a councillor does. The majority of our costs though is labor and there is not much wiggle room if we are going to provide the services, eg sports and recreation, arts and culture, parks and trails, museums and theatres that people have come to expect.

Nanaimo is one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada. We need to manage growth and ensure that we don’t lose the quality of life that draws people to this region. That takes smart planning and smart investments. It also means that we need to spend money on infrastructure to keep up with the needs of a growing population.

In general, I think the city has been doing a fair job of balancing the needs of the city with the financial burden on taxpayers, with the exception of the 2022 property tax spike. If I am elected I will work to ensure that we continue to plan for growth by building and expanding the required infrastructure and amenities without an undue financial burden on taxpayers.

Lots of projects have been completed or are being completed and Council should be congratulated. However, many projects went over budget, took longer than projected and we’re still waiting for some to be finished. Personally, there are still lots of pot holes in areas that are frustrating to the people who live there. I think the upgrades on Metral were over the top. Grant funding was used along with funding for utility upgrades but I don’t understand why we had to make the road so narrow. Couldn’t we do sidewalks and bike lanes on one side of the road to allow that funding to be extended to another area.
Do we have a masterplan of future road sidewalk and bike lane development? As a member of the public, you should be able to look up where future upgrades are planned. Emergencies may change the plan slightly but a master plan will keep us on track. Hopefully we aren’t being bogged down by consultant reports.

Based upon the public feedback that I’ve received and including my own, it seems like certain projects, including bike lanes in downtown and Metral, have gone beyond what is practical. If that is the case, a closer look at other projects is overdue. The problesome part is that feedback is not always sourced out in a method that reaches the affected business and residential base.

There’s alot to take care of but we to need to listen to what people want and fix things if they feel we dropped the ball in some areas. They pay us, we serve them. Its not hard to see what they want.

I feel they could utilize the funds much better, by creating affordable housing for all, making sure our streets are safe city wide.

Could have been better

The city has done a reasonable job of balancing basic and recreation needs with the ensuing financial burden on the taxpayer. Improvement to recreational amenities such as the pathway through Bowen Park are usually planned in conjunction with needed infrastructure upgrades, which makes sense. However, the current economic climate makes it very necessary to identify “must have” projects as opposed to “nice to have” projects, and to draw the line against adding any further burden to taxpayers.

Though I am happy with the upgrades that are currently happening in Nanaimo, I disagree with lack of community involvement within decision making process.

I will continue to emphasize the idea of “My Tax Money Nanaimo”. It is critical to have an App / Website which will easily make available the information of how the City is spending Tax Payers money.

Metral Drive. Again, the City spent far more money than was necessary to replace the pipes and redo the road of Metral Drive with adding the extra, isolated bike lane, all the the trees and landscaping, and making it much more difficult for Customers to access businesses like the Superstore and Home Depot as a result of losing one lane.

It would have been far more cost effective to simply add the typical “white bike lane” strip to the street, not add the extra landscaping, and preserve easy access to businesses.

Using Tax Payer’s money for projects that serve a “Green” agenda, in the service of the goals of Unelected Global Elites, is not the role of a City Council who is supposed to be the careful Custodian of Resident’s money.

That said, there have been some road upgrades which were well done like those near the intersection of Bruce and 4th Street. There the Bike Lanes were simple white lines. Cost effective.

I think there are nice to have Capitol projects which can be scaled back while there are others which must be done. For example our Public Works building needs to be replaced. It is very old and no longer meets the needs of the City. The RCMP building is now to small and it needs to be expanded. I think we need to assess all of our Capital projects and prioritize them. We did this this year and need to continue to do this. I also think we need to look at what areas of town have gotten projects, the south end has been waiting for a neighbourhood Center for years and this needs to be taken into consideration as their tax dollars have funded many projects within the City. I think we need to have operational costs included in all Capital Projects as this has a direct impact on taxation, presently we are not doing this. This makes it difficult to vote on some projects as we do not know if we will have to hire more staff once the project is complete.

we need our essential infrastructure done but in a more strategically planned way to monitor wasteful cost overruns.

The current council has done this recently however I would caution using this to reduce taxes. We have a 10-year plan on capital projects and staff and council go over each year and very few of these are not considered essential. We are now looking at some projects to see if they can be moved back a few years and some like the bridge that would connect the off-street active transportation route that bypasses Bowen Road was taken out of the plan for now. However, water, sewer, solid waste management, roads is not something you scale back. These are critical infrastructure, and you start cutting back on these and you end up paying a lot more later. Forcing future taxpayers to pay for the services we are using today and not paying for by proper taxation is not something I’m interested in doing. My obligation is to the taxpayers of today and tomorrow. This concept of cutting back now on needed infrastructure, repairs and services and stuck paying more later is one of the reasons why cities in the US are going bankrupt and their infrastructure is falling apart.

As previously mentioned, I believe money should be spent on critical issues within the city, before investing taxpayer’s money into large, long term projects.

Such projects have already been scaled back due to supply issues and escalating cost. Until market volatility has settled, all projects must be viewed through this lense.

What is needed.is high tec greenhouses in every neighborhood for food security in these uncertain times

Stormwater infrastructure includes greenspaces and creek systems. Some might not realize that more parks and protected spaces are essential to sustainable service delivery. We would need to come to a working consensus on what includes essential infrastructure.

Capital projects are vital for the growth and development of our city but major projects (with a capital budget between $1m and $10m) and special projects (with a capital budget in excess of $10m) should have community buy-in and opportunities for citizens to weigh in at the early stages to help determine whether it’s a priority or whether that money is needed elsewhere.

There are limits to what a local government can request from its constituents in terms of property tax and this must be respected. We are faced with growing and changing demands on our public infrastructure because of changing demographics, such as the increasing number of seniors and because of the increasing stresses of a changing climate. For example, our Regional District is required to pay 40% of the upgrades to the Nanaimo Regional Hospital. A new patient tower, cancer treatment center and cardiac unit which are badly needed will cost the RDN 800 million dollars and this money must come from somewhere. Given the greater demands on local government finances to upgrade its infrastructure, there must be options for alternative revenue sources outside property taxes. These alternative revenue streams must be lobbied for from the provincial and federal governments.

I am thoroughly familiar with Council balance sheets, having been a previous Councillor for 7 years. Capital projects are not causing our tax increases and budget issues. Our recurrent expenditure on staff and salaries has increased over $9M from 2018-2021 alone, and is unsustainable. This is a main reason why some residents have seen their taxes double during the current term of Council.

I think the money should be put to use more effectively. There are countless ways to do this. Such as, instead of spending an exorbitant amount money on the bike lanes infrastructure built on Metral drive and downtown. We take a much more responsible approach and start by designating bike lanes and just painting the bike lanes onto the existing roadways. If in the future the lanes are fully used then we address it by creating the separate meridian infrastructure. The money that the City would of saved could of been used to fund lower costs to rent the sports fields for children’s sprorts and promote the healthy lifestyle we enjoy so much in this city.

This really depends. City plans are often woven together, ensuring that we maximize our efficiency and manage costs. Each capital project would need to be assessed in its relation to others. If it’s a stand alone and can withstand being put off until the economy stabilizes, such as the Lenhart Bridge project, then I support scaling back. If it’s a capital project wrapped into another capital project that is of a high priority, then I would consider that in a different light.

Water, sewer, storm drains, road repairs must be maintained. Frivolous projects like art galleries, theatre expansions, public art installations are low priority and best paid by private fundraising.

No, I think capital projects are important, however, the burdens should be offset or balanced by increased trade; by stimulating market conditions. One of the areas I will prioritize if elected is trade. We can both develop the City of Nanaimo and simultaneously increase trade and productivity. I would consult with the private sector to learn what can be done. We are, after all, a port city.

There are no savings in making big cuts in expenditures on infrastructure, facilities and services, only costly delays. Which infrastructure, facilities and services would suffer cuts or deferrals in maintenance? Do all our city streets and sidewalks meet current safety standards? Is street lighting adequate? Many questions, many hard answers.

We need to look to transparent and democratic community input to determine how much and when. Affordability is a key issue in terms of who is willing and able to accept the burden of cost. Sometimes it makes sense to throttle and set more realistic timelines on the “nice to have” projects or revisit how we finance them. We need to triage “what gets done and when” based on need and access to resources or funding streams.

There are drivers such as emergency preparedness, climate risk, and food and shelter insecurity which need to receive greater priority in our planning exercises.

At this time we really need to look carefully at any capital project that isn’t essential. We have more projects such as the Public Works Yard that is completely outdated and will be a multi million project, along with expansion of RCMP building. The south of Nanaimo has been waiting decades for their own community recreation building, but with labour and supply issues, every project will have to be considered carefully.

The city has been combining essential water, sewer and road upgrades with other upgrades at the same time. This makes sense. If the roads need to be torn up for new sewer and water lines then it makes sense to make improvements to sidewalks, lighting, bus stops and bike lanes at the same time.

Nanaimo has a growing population and an aging demographic. There is a long list of needs which must be met to accommodate these changes. The Regional District of Nanaimo is expected to provide 40% of the investment needed to upgrade the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.

Provincial and federal governments have been shifting the responsibility for infrastructure upgrades onto municipalities for decades, without providing sufficient financial support. Municipalities only have property tax revenue to draw from and the city must be responsible with property tax increases and spending. The City of Nanaimo and RDN need to lobby senior levels of government for additional financial resources for some of these crucial infrastructure upgrades.

I spent enough years on Council to know, you must do the projects that are essential for community safety. Sewer, Roads, Water are a must. It’s the big projects that sometimes either have to be scaled back or held off for a year or two. Sometimes you can apply for grant dollars with the Provincial and Federal Governments and it gives the community more for the dollar.
I honestly feel the Metral Drive project was over the top. Why don’t we complete one side of the road, and save the money for other areas. We can always come back in the future to do the other side.
Today, Metral Drive is difficult to drive, it’s narrow and I’m told people stay away from it and that affects businesses in that area.
While I was the Mayor of Summerland, we build a new RCMP detachment. The building was a must have but at one point we were facing the possibility of going over budget. We scaled back the exterior look of the building. The end result was that the building wasn’t as attractive as we had hoped for but we stayed on budget and the building was done on time.

Essential, meaning essential infrastructure projects should speak themselves as to the necessity. Some should come with the caveat that it may possible to delay them. Just because it’s budgeted for doesn’t mean it is necessary. I believe tax relief is a priority.

I find it depends on the project and how beneficial it is for the city. Even if we came up with a great idea, my first thought will be how Tax payers can benefit and not suffer from these big changes.

Many citizens have told me that they don’t feel that they are seeing the value of their taxpayer dollars. When elected, I would thoroughly examine all budgets to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being allocated efficiently and effectively. I will also be asking myself before approving developments if the project proposed would be a net-gain for the city or a net-loss. I will always vote with the taxpayer in mind and will always advocate for no wasteful spending. Capital projects need to be considered on a case-by-case basis for prioritization.

Yes there has been an example of excessive spending on one single road.

Yes I agree that capital projects, excluding essential infrastructure, should be scaled back. Two main projects that the city absolutely needs are a new public works yard (operations centre) and a new police station. Even these, though, will need to be completed in phases to spread the costing over several years. Other more optional recreational projects such as the waterfront walkway and the south end recreation centre, I support – but feel they need to be delayed or scaled back to reduce tax burden – and again completed in phases to spread out costing.

With the exponential growth of the population in Nanaimo, I believe the infrastructure has to keep up.

Love this question. 100% AGREED! It is far past time to reign in spending from City Council and be Fiscally Conservative. The issue with those of a Neo-Liberal, Progressive mentality has always been to “Tax and Spend”. Legacy Projects that flatter the ego, so that Politicians can point to some feature of a City, and say, “I pushed for that.” That is NOT the role of a City Council. We are Custodians of people’s money and MUST use that money with absolute care and meticulous attention to efficiency and value.

Now, Council has contracts to complete certain Capital Projects, and my understanding is that backing out of those Contracts would be costly in terms of Legal Fees which Nanaimo Tax Payers would have to shoulder. I would finish the projects Council has already committed to, and then HALT all new, unnecessary Capital Projects.

Already, Canadians are feeling a brutal demand on their resources because of the Liberal Government’s reckless spending during the pandemic, and, I believe, unnecessary lockdowns which decimated the Economy and so many Small Businesses.

Inflation is at its highest level in decades. City Council cannot do anything about that, but we can HALT new, unneeded local spending.