DEBT TROUBLING

Re: City shouldn’t spin rating agency report (SP, Feb. 17) On one hand, columnist Jordon Cooper apparently agrees with city hall’s claim that the city’s economy is doing well and that its debt is manageable.

On the other hand, he complains that, “All we get is spin from the city” regarding its financial status. So, which is it — win or spin? Oddly, Cooper doesn’t state just what the city’s current debt is. Well, the debt listed in the city’s 2015 budget is $373 million. The new debt limit is $558 million.

All I want to know is how will the city ever be able to pay off these hundreds of millions of dollars?

Our fearless city administrators have big trouble finding enough money for bridge and road maintenance and the like. So where will it find the money to repay indebtedness that’s climbing toward half a billion dollars?

And how on earth can Standard & Poor’s be so sanguine regarding Saskatoon’s indebtedness?

Meta Klaus

Saskatoon