Another round of capital budget talks is in the books for Saugeen Shores.
And at one point — Saugeen Shores Mayor Mike Smith and Deputy Mayor Luke Charbonneau exchanged barbs.
It all started when Charbonneau suggested that the Port Elgin Beach washroom project and the Elgin Street parking project be put back into the budget with funding coming from what he called “the perfectly useless bridge reserves.”
Charbonneau says the 135 thousand dollars earmarked for building bridges in 2035 would be put to better use by spending on our needs in 2012.
Mayor Mike Smith, visibly upset with the comments, says we have to always have an eye on long-term financing.
Smith says bridges right now cost about 10 thousand dollar a metre, meaning the bridge spanning the Saugeen River would cost five to six million dollars to replace in today’s dollars.
Smith says we can’t just saddle the debt with future generations.
We have to start saving now through the bridge reserves.
Meanwhile Treasurer Lori Sweiger says as it stands right now, the capital budget represents three-quarters of one per-cent increase on the tax levy from last year — about a 67 thousand dollar increase.
More talks will happen down the road on the capital and operating budgets.
