Surrey approves recommendations for budget cuts; Cloverdale ice rink on hold
Posted December 11, 2018 7:20 pm.
Last Updated December 12, 2018 7:16 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SURREY (NEWS 1130) — Surrey’s finance committee has approved recommendations to slash the capital budget that includes pushbacks to building new facilities such as the much argued-over Cloverdale Arena.
Before the vote, the committee heard yet again from people in Surrey on the new capital plan, some of whom were advocating last-minute for the city government to abandon the cutbacks, which Mayor Doug McCallum sees as necessary to keep Surrey’s debt in check.
The new capital plan will go before city council for approval next Monday.
More than eighteen people in total lined up to give the committee their two cents on the new recommendations, including a representative from the Surrey Board of Trade, who said as Surrey expands its government has to accommodate the needs of the growing population. As expected, the new Cloverdale ice rink was at the centre of the debate.
Cindy Dalglish, another attendee talking before the committee, echoes concerns about Surrey’s future growth, especially as it pertains to youth services.
“I’m tired of hearing politicians talk in four-year terms,” she says. “I want them to look at the long-term, the longevity of what it means for a child to grow up in a city.”
Young folks also chimed in, such as 15-year-old Pavandeep Nijjar implored the mayor to keep his word.
“He kept saying that he wants to make a change, so make a change, got through with this ice rink, go through with the rec centres, go through with everything you promised us,” Nijjar says.
RELATED: Parents protest Surrey council decision to push back rink construction
On Monday night, parents and kids gathered in front of Cloverdale Arena to protest the mayor’s proposal to push back the construction of a new ice rink, which was promised and budgeted for by the previous government.
McCallum argues the city cannot afford new debt as borrowing rates are going up, though a new municipal police force is in the works for Surrey. The mayor has said the city’s debt is about $514 million, though latest figure shows it hovering around $316 million.
— with files from Taran Parmar
