A new year provides an opportunity for a fresh start or, at the very least, an assessment. For Powell River, 2012 appears to be shaping up as a year of challenges.
The whole community waits to see the outcome of Catalyst Paper Corporation’s financial restructuring process. On December 15, 2011, the company announced it was deferring a $21-million interest payment, as it continued discussions with its bondholders to reduce debt levels. Its total debt is reported to be $840 million, an overwhelming amount that the company grapples with each quarter. Experts predict a financial restructuring as opposed to a liquidation of assets, although no one knows for sure the outcome of the discussions.
Catalyst’s financial situation will help form City of Powell River budget discussions, which will be starting soon. While major industrial taxes have been whittled down to $2.5 million annually, Catalyst’s operations in Powell River play a major role in the community, including for small businesses and non-profit organizations.
The city faces other economic challenges aside from Catalyst’s precarious situation. Debt payments on short-term borrowing for major capital projects kick in this year. Residents still have not been privy to the contents of a service review conducted in 2011 or all the details on the settlement with CUPE, (Canadian Union of Public Employees) Local 798.
The city found out at the end of 2011 that its $7.2-million grant application to the Union of BC Municipalities’ Innovations Fund for co-treatment was unsuccessful. Elected officials plan to ask the provincial government for funding for this project, a proposal to treat the city’s sewage at Catalyst’s Powell River division, but that appears to be a last-ditch effort. Whatever the outcome, the city still has to complete its liquid waste management plan and deal with its two existing facilities, which don’t meet provincial regulations.
Returning councillors spoke often during the November civic election campaign about the need to “tighten our belt.” But details about how city officials plan to reduce spending or increase revenues have not been revealed since the election.
What can residents expect? Reduced services? Higher property taxes? The answers to these questions, and much more information, should be available sooner, rather than later.
Martin Luther King, Jr. said the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. This year will provide a measure of city officials as they tackle the challenges that lie ahead.
