The State of the City is not good.
Mayor Don Darling in his first State of the City address yesterday said Saint John is in a fiscal crisis. The Telegraph-Journal reports he told the crowd there’s a $250 million debt, the tax base is shrinking and there’ll be $5 million less coming from the province next year.
Darling reiterated what he has said before…growth is needed to boost revenues. But he also reached out to city workers and citizens saying they need to reset expectations….workers when it comes to wages and citizens when it comes to services. The Mayor pointed out over half of the city’s operating budget is for wages and benefits.