The Halifax-based Chronicle Herald reports that what was supposed to be a routine update by Halifax 2014 Commonwealth bid officials turned out to be a “fairly rough ride” at the city’s regional council meeting Tuesday.
Some councillors reportedly expressed their impatience with the “dribble of details” they have been receiving from the Commonwealth bid committee.
One councillor told the meeting “I think this has to be public as soon as possible. It’s just like this big secret, and I’m not sure why”.
Scott Logan, CEO of the bid committee, said the public won’t hear the cost of the bid for about a month and the full cost of the Games won’t become public for about a year.
According to the Halifax Daily News he told the councillors, “we want to release as much as you can, but you have to be cautious. You only have to look at Scotland’s Web site to see some of our ideas”. Glasgow Scotland and Abuja Nigeria are bidding against Halifax for the right to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
“The numbers can be released at a point in time that doesn’t jeopardize our competitiveness”, he said.
Logan pledged fiscal details will be made public at different junctures as the bid process unfolds.
The most recent estimate of hosting the 2014 Games is $785 million, which will be shared by the municipality, the province, the federal government and the private sector. Organizers have said the Games will generate about $2 billion in economic spin-offs.
Some councillors said taxpayers would not support the bid if they don’t find out how much it costs soon.
Dale MacLennan, the bid’s finance director, told the councillors the bid budget is the most detailed any Canadian bid committee has ever put together.
The city’s bid committee has until May 12 to finalize its bid budget. The proposed budget will be shown to councillors behind closed doors before it goes to the federal government, reports the Chronicle Herald.
