Interim deficit report nothing to worry about: Karsten
Posted Nov 27, 2014 05:43:30 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The city’s books are showing a $1.5 million deficit, according to an interim report submitted to the audit and finance committee.
But the chair of that committee isn’t concerned about the red ink, suggesting it’s just a snapshot in time.
Coun. Bill Karsten says the report is an accounting process designed to give councillors an update.
“I look at it as digging into your dresser on a Friday morning, and … you don’t have the right amount of change. By the end of the day, it’s there,” said Karsten.
Karsten says a couple of unforeseen incident are dragging the numbers down, including an oil spill at the Halifax Transit garage in Burnside, and lower-than-expected deed transfer taxes.
He believes the numbers will return to the black by the end of the year, suggesting we may even see a surplus.