Here we go - Political Analysis Part I

First off, sorry for the long hiatus - I was reading the City's financial statements from 2004-2007, which are all available on line at fortstjohn.ca/, also preparations for Halloween got in the way.

It was a bit of hard slog, financial statements always are. But what I learned was this: Despite what many people in the community have said about the current council spending money hand over fist, I found that's not exactly correct. Spending has increased over the past few years, yes, but most of it makes perfect sense and its fairly easy to see where all the money has gone. And this is coming from someone who is not at all good at number-crunching. Thankfully, my spouse studied accounting at university and was able to clarify some points for me!

Note that I said "most" of the spending. The big change in the city's financial status came following the referendum on borrowing to build the Enerplex. That's when the City's spending jumped by $9 million. Prior to this, the City was essentially debt-free - an admirable goal Mayor Steve Thorlakson and council had been working towards for several years.

The referendum question was:

Are you in favour of the City of Fort St. John borrowing up to $15,000,000.00 to construct the Enerplex?

Now, here's my problem with this. It passed, which is technically fair and democratic. Yes, we need more ice. BUT of the 13,045 registered voters at the time of the referendum, only 1,669 voted. That's a mere 12.79% - hardly a good turn out. It seemed, then and now, like they were trying to put a rush on it. But it's well-known that there is a shortage of ice in the city. So another skating surface of some description is required.

Maybe you don't think so, and that's fine. Back in 1972, when the original Rec Centre was built, people thought that was unnecessary and a waste of money too. No doubt, there will always be people who are against spending money. That's fine too. Obviously, I'm unhappy with the fact that the referendum passed with only a 13% turnout. The other thing is, one of our great claims to fame, as a city, was that we had one of the few outdoor Olympic sized speed skating ovals in the Province. And we've sent several speed skaters to the Olympics, who have trained on this ice. Plus, it was great for recreational skating too. Now, our outdoor oval is a construction site (although it does reappear in winter at the Bert Bowes track), and there are limited opportunities for recreational outdoor skating. Doubtless, we're going to have to pay through the nose to skate indoors at the Enerplex.

So, that's my rant and analysis for the day. Not very analytical, I know, but still. Tonight is the all-candidates forum at the Northern Grand Hotel (aka Pioneer Inn). So that should be interesting. I'm interested to hear the candidates views. Most of those who have websites haven't updated them recently, so more information would be welcome at this point in the campaign.

Be informed, and get out to the forum!! I'm going to try to make it!! Thanks for reading.