On the Railway Lands Purchase ...

I agreed that removing the railway line from the heart of the tourist area was a good thing. For this reason, I wanted to support the deal. I did not, however, because of its impact on the residential tax bill.

The initiative was good. It was the financing that was problematic for me. I strongly feel that the residential taxpayer should not have been forced to bear the burden of the purchase cost.

Several large tourism concerns directly along the track will directly benefit from its removal and redevelopment. I believed these businesses should have contributed to the purchase.

This was one of the main reasons I also voted against the 2002 Budget, which increased property taxes by 4.9%.

That Budget included more than $1,000,000 in Railway acquisition expenses, INCLUDING $395,000 INTEREST CHARGES IN 2002 ALONE on the $18,000,000 loan the City required to finance the Railway Lands purchase.