The new council was walked through the proposed 2015 capital budget Thursday and they will get the opportunity to put their stamp of approval on Part 1 of the spreadsheet when it comes before them Jan. 19.
Part 1 of the capital budget proposes expenditures of $24.7 million. A quick comparison to Part 1 of the 2014 capital budget reveals this is more than double the roughly $10.3 million in expenditures.
What accounts for the apparent financial running amok at city hall?
That would be $13 million for the proposed new home for the St. Thomas Police Service, for which refined plans and drawings will come before council on Jan. 19.
So, if the doomsayers vehemently opposed to construction of the new police HQ are correct in their warnings, this extravagant expense will have a significant impact on property taxes — remember the dire prediction from Lori Baldwin-Sands? — and this should show up on the funding source page of the budget.
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