This is my last look at incumbent Councillors. Before I begin, full disclosure – Councillor Wells and I have been on opposite sides of numerous issues before Council over the last three years and from that experience, I think it’s fair to say that we do not share the same vision nor would we agree on what constitutes fiscal responsibility or open and transparent government.
My first experience of Councillor Wells in action was at the May 2013 Rothesay Common open house staged, ostensibly, to obtain ideas from the public as to what new amenities they might like to see on Rothesay Common.
I say ostensibly because, as we were to learn later, a strategy was already well advanced with the establishment of an ad hoc steering committee of Council headed by Councillor Wells to manage the Common development to conclusion. Consultants had prepared preliminary drawings that bore a certain symmetry to ideas put forward by town staff to the Heritage Board in May of 2012, just before Councillor Wells was elected. Council had also secured $2.4 million by way of borrowing authority from the Municipal Capital Borrowing Board to “…undertake major improvements to the Common.” If anyone in the school gym that evening was under the impression that they were being consulted on the question of whether or not there should be development on the Common or what the scale or scope or cost should be, then they were wrong.
If Councillor Wells can take full credit for anything this Council has done in the last four years, then it would be the construction of the rink and skating oval on the Rothesay Common, with its ice plant, zamboni garage and the 2.5 to 3 cent tax rate increase that will kick in next year when the town has to start paying for it.
If Councillor Wells is re-elected on May 9th, it may well signal that she was right to say that 80% of residents were in favour of this project. She certainly showed a single minded determination to move it forward and over, under, or through all obstacles, including a sizable group of residents opposed to it.
Councillor Wells has voted for a great deal of spending over the last four years and to give her her due, she isn’t afraid to acknowledge the downside of that – taxes.
In her campaign flyer, she references her 2012 pledge to “keep tax increases to a minimum“. It’s a rare politician, who in tough economic times, is prepared to run on an increase in the tax burden however small.
As it turns out, Councillor Wells did vote for tax increases for two years running. Her current unwavering support of the proposed new Rothesay Arena project will mean further significant increases in the property tax rate in future. This may not sit well with voters who will have to plan for upcoming increases in fees for water and sewer services on top of growing property taxes bills that might compare favourably with the highest taxed municipalities in Canada, but are a long way from being the most competitive.
With just over half our population approaching or in their retirement years, decisions that mean ever higher tax bills also mean that seniors will be squeezed hard, well before those who are still in their peak earning years. Wells needs to look beyond her social circle and demonstrate some empathy for the corrosive impact runaway spending has on the quality of life for those on fixed incomes or who are just surviving from week to week.
If this election is about voting for higher taxes, then Councillor Wells will win big. If voters are unhappy with the prospect of continuing a record that has seen the Town’s debt jump 250% since 2011, then Wells may be out of a job after May the 9th. I for one will be voting for a more fiscally conservative agenda. That’s a better route to a “Vibrant and Healthy Community”.