posted on November 05, 2008

Miller on track to double T.O.'s debt

By: SUE-ANN LEVY
Published: 31st October 2008
Source: TORONTO SUN

After budget chief Shelley Carroll and Mayor David Miller had shamelessly sung the praises of their "prudent" 2009 capital budget yesterday, I asked if one or the other could illuminate us as to the city's current total debt.

After all, given that the city was planning to finance 23% of the $1.6-billion capital budget with $367-million more in new debt, I wondered what that meant for the city's steadily ballooning long-term debt figure -- and how much of the operating budget would go to service that debt.

Our strong mayor deferred to Carroll to answer. The Mistress of Doubletalk tried to steer me in quite another direction.

"This is new debt ... this is a budget that's funded on a combination of things ..." she said, before I asked her again, and a third time, for the projected 2009 total debt figure.

"They're in the presentation ... I can leaf through this (presentation) or you can find them ... I know they're in the presentation," she said.

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