Kavanagh Will Vote Against Lansdowne

While any councillor who actually cares about the City’s finances should actually vote against Lansdowne 2, it is disturbing to think that Councillors actually think that the City has $419 million to spend just sitting in reserves and this money can just be spent on something else. Lansdowne was going to be primarily funded by debt which means the debt servicing can only come from increased future taxes, money diverted from other spending , future tax base growth or a combination thereof. For a councillor to think that by not spending on Lansdowne that suddenly $419 million is freed up to spend on other things is wrong. The City can choose to borrow $419 for other capital projects, but there is not just a pot of tax money just lying around ready to be spent. The other night at the Lansdowne presentation, someone suggested that if we didn’t spend on Lansdowne, each councillor would have an additional $20 million to spend in their ward. Equally as wrong.