Fougere takes shot at Masters' promise to find `operational efficiencies'

Two mayoral candidates exchanged barbs on the campaign trail on Thursday.

Michael Fougere took aim at rival mayoral candidate Sandra Masters on Thursday, saying her platform will mean cuts to city jobs and services.

Fougere characterized Masters as being “untested” and “risky” as a leader. In turn, Masters said Fougere's charges were both “rich and desperate.”

Masters defended her policy to find 15 per cent in savings through efficiencies at city hall, claiming it does not mean chopping 15 per cent out of the city's budget for services and jobs.

“This is about operational efficiency, it's not about cuts” said Masters, firing back at Fougere by saying over his eight years he has failed to give taxpayers more for their buck.

“The city needs to be prudent and strategic during a pandemic. It's definitely not about job cuts,” she said.

But Fougere said from his eight years in office, there's only one way to reach fiscal targets at city hall.

“Ms. Masters is planning to find 15 per cent in city cuts to operations within six months thinly veiled under an operational review,” said Fougere.

But Masters said the mayor of any city should be concerned about how well things are running, adding the review would be a way to “do more with what you have.”

Instead of immediate outright cuts, Masters wants to assess city operations, target redundancies and reallocate resources.

When asked if there was a possibility of cuts to jobs and services, Masters said, “I don't know. I don't think so, but I don't know.”

The specific wording of Masters' campaign promise is that she will

“conduct an operations efficiency review within the first six months, and am committed to finding 15 per cent in savings from increased operational efficiencies.”

To Fougere that means cuts to the tune of $70 million, which he says will ” absolutely devastate our city.”

Masters says austerity will not be her policy as mayor and that she is not open to outsourcing or privatizing city functions and jobs.

“I don't know where the $70 million came from because efficiency is about time, it's about doing more with the same amount of money,” she said.

From the city's 2020 revenue expenditures, the entire budget for roadways and transport took up nine per cent of the budget. The city's total expenditures in 2020 came out to $472,203,000, which would mean 15 per cent of the budget would be $70,830,450.

Fougere alleged that Masters' plan amounted to proposed cuts to roads, snow removal, police, fire and transit services and job loses. Fougere has said he will not cut the city budget in any way and will freeze property taxes as well.

Masters says Fougere's plan is unlikely, claiming the only candidate that will bring in cuts is Fougere. That's despite his plan to dip into city reserves to help weather the COVID-19 pandemic.

When she announced her campaign platform, Masters said the money saved would be reinvested in city services, but said job loss was possible.

“It's a very sloppy, difficult way to create a budget. It creates massive uncertainty,” said Fougere.

Masters claimed Fougere's focus on her platform comes from her viability as a candidate.

“I think the mayor may be a little nervous and, I think, he's attempting to scare people,” said Masters.