Rothesay mayoral candidates focus on transparency, spending

Fiscal responsibility and transparency appear to be the key themes in Rothesay's mayoral race.

Coun. Pat Gallagher-Jette, who has served four terms, and Deputy Mayor Nancy Grant are hoping to take over the seat being vacated by longtime mayor, Bill Bishop.

By the end of this term, he will be the longest servingmunicipal politicianin New Brunswick with 44 years of service 15 as mayor.

Gallagher-Jettesays there's a need for change in the town. She says over the years she's grown frustrated with the way information is discussed atcouncil.

"I call it a culture where if we got information, we were very discouraged from asking questions, and we were to accept the information we got. And if we didn't it was very hard to get any further," Gallagher-Jette said Thursday in an interview on Information Morning Saint John.

"You end up, in my opinion, making uninformed decisions and my big fear was sometimes you got information after, and we ended up with citizens who were very unhappy and we couldn't do much about it sometimes."

Gallagher-Jetteis running her platform on fiscal responsibility. She believes some "non-essential projects" have been allowed to proceed that risk putting the town's finances in jeopardy.

Every time we borrow money the taxes are going to go up. These are difficult economic times- Pat Gallagher-Jette, Rothesay mayoral candidate

"As beautiful as the Rothesay Commonproject may be, it's unfortunate that we had to borrow every cent of that, because next year is payback time for that particular expenditure," she said.

"Every time we borrow money the taxes are going to go up. These are difficult economic times, and my position is that we should at least very carefully scrutinize spending If I'm anything I'm a fiscal conservative and that concerns me."

Information Morning - Saint John7:12Mayoral candidate: Rothesay, Patricia Gallagher Jette

Mayoral candidate: Rothesay, Patricia Gallagher JetteGallagher-Jette also has reservations about another major recreation proposal for the town that involves building a new $13 million arenaand converting the existing rink into a fieldhouse.

She recommends a smaller-scale project that would renovate the existing arena at a cost of approximately$4 million.

"Certainly we want recreation in the town, and we have lots of opportunities for it, but I submit with the beauty around us and the river and the trails, we don't have to make those expensive spending decisions."

'Transparency, accountability'

Deputy Mayor Nancy Grant says people are largely supportive of the plan to replace the town's 46-year-old arena. The project is still contingent on funding from the province.

"We have to do something. The arena is so old it has outlived its youthfulness and we're spending money on it every year. The roof leaks, the ice plant goes, so we need to do something about that," she said.

"What I hear door-to-door is that people want an ice surface in Rothesay."

Municipalities are more than just balance books.- Nancy Grant, Rothesay mayoral candidate

Grant doesn't believe council has been irresponsible in its spending decisions.

She says the projects being approved are manageable and worthwhile.

"Municipalities are more than just balance books, they're the provision and maintenance of infrastructure. They arereplacement of buildings at the end of their lifestyle," said Grant.

Information Morning - Saint John7:19Mayoral candidate: Rothesay, Nancy Grant

Mayoral candidate: Rothesay, Nancy Grant"That's why we borrowed money for the library, and the library now is one of the hives of activity in the Kennebecasis Valley. Fifty per cent of the population in the valley has a library card, and it's wonderful."

In the case of recreation, Grant says sheconsidersit an investment in quality of life and preventative medicine.

"The Commons project has so many benefits in terms of physical and mental health, I mean what price do we put on that?" Grant said.

"On the other hand we do look carefully at every dollar. They're our tax dollars too."

Grant says if elected mayor, she would get to work on improving the lines of communication between the town and its residents.

At the door she's hearing peoplearen't being given enough information on big projects in the area.

"They feel they'd like to know more about the scope of the project, the cost and so on, so that has come through loud and clear," said Grant.

"We all want transparency and accountability."