REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Saturday July 13, 1985

THE GOLD Coast City Council was in uproar when, in an unprecedented move, Alderman Keith Thompson released confidential details of the city’s 1985-86 budget one week before it was due to be brought down.

Amid howls of protest and constant interjections, Ald Thompson labelled the foreshadowed budget as “horrendous, unwarranted and incredible,” because ratepayers would face their biggest increases in 10 years.

And in another amazing incident, Ald Thompson was supported by finance committee chairman Athol Paterson who was due to bring down the budget. Ald Paterson was also unhappy with the proposed budget and believed aldermen were not concerned enough about “the people who have to foot the bills”.

Ald Thompson said ratepayers could expect at least a 13.1 per cent increase on the previous year’s charges and would be paying at least an extra $70 for the 1985-86 financial year.

He said loan borrowings were getting out of hand and had increased from 19.4 million the previous year to $26 million to cover extra capital works planned by “new and inexperienced aldermen”.

Red-faced debate began when Ald Thompson moved the adoption of the budget be deferred until the Town Clerk produced a draft budget which reduced the overall rates rise to less than 10 per cent.

Ald Thompson said in his motion that cuts could be made in the loan program, capital works and by reallocating money left over from the previous budget.