Port Coquitlam residents packed the Terry Fox secondary school theatre last week in an effort to learn more about the candidates vying for seats on council in the upcoming civic election.
While the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce all-candidates meeting was a cordial affair, sparks did fly for a moment between the two mayoral candidates on the issue of city spending.
Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore slammed challenger William Issa's campaign promise to cut the city's operating budget by 30% - representing about $21.9 million in spending - saying doing so would require dramatic cuts in services.
Issa has pledged to come up with the savings by reducing wasteful spending but Moore said if that large of an amount was being squandered, both staff and council would be aware of it.
"Do you think the existing council is that dense?" Moore said. "I wish he would come forward to show what he wants to cut."
Issa did not get the chance to respond during Thursday night's all-candidates meeting but told The Tri-City News on Monday that he would not back down from his promise. He once again asserted his pledge that he will be able to reduce spending by 30% without cutting any services, and even plans to increase garbage collection to a weekly schedule.
"We need to cut the bureaucracy," Issa said. "There are a lot of employees that are hibernating at the city... that is not efficient.
"I would say this is a lifetime opportunity for the people of Port Coquitlam to elect me and get things right. If they don't, they are going to get the same kind of rubber stamp mayors that we have had for years."
Council candidates were also asked what services they would cut in order to keep taxes low.
While most agreed that public consultation would be required before any service reductions were contemplated, several said the city does not need service reductions.
"We are not hearing from people [saying], 'We want to cut services,'" said Coun. Darrell Penner. "People want more services."
That sentiment was echoed by incumbents Glenn Pollock and Brad West, who said the city is a fairly lean and efficient operation.
Staffing cuts were also a way several challengers said they would look to reduce spending while Coun. Mike Forrest said the city's reliance on outside consultants could be reduced.
Candidates answered questions on everything from what they thought was the most pressing business concern facing PoCo to how many meetings they attended during their term.
When asked what the biggest business concern facing the city was, challenger Jamie Arden said the city needs to strike a balance between the larger businesses, like Walmart and Canadian Tire, with the smaller shops and services in the municipality's downtown.
Another challenger, Derek Kootte, said infrastructure improvements were required in all of the city's commercial areas, not just the city centre.
Council candidate Darin Nielsen said it is important for the city to retain its industrial land base, particularly in the Dominion Triangle.
Taxation is the largest issue facing the city, according to candidate Michael Thomas, who said businesses cannot properly plan because of the unpredictability of rates. He added that transportation issues are slowing down the movement of goods in the city and the rest of the region.
