Woolwich — Ward 1

It should be more transparent and accessible

Please describe one concrete example of a trade-off you would support (or oppose) when costs rise faster than revenues.candidate's own words

I’d support delaying a lower-priority capital expansion before cutting maintenance on the roads, facilities and other infrastructure we already own. Every new asset comes with decades of operating, maintenance and replacement costs, so I want council looking at the full lifecycle cost before we build it. When money is tight, maintaining what we have and protecting core services should come first.

Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on budgets?candidate's own words

I don’t support setting an arbitrary tax cap and then working backwards from it. Municipal costs don’t move neatly with consumer inflation, and years of holding taxes artificially low can leave taxpayers with a much larger infrastructure bill later. I want every major spending decision put through a simple value test. Do we need it, what value does it provide, what will it cost over its full life, who pays, and what result are we getting?

If you chose "It should be more transparent and accessible", please describe how.candidate's own words

Residents should be able to see, in plain language, what’s driving the tax increase, what each major budget decision costs, what service they’re receiving for it, and what happens if we defer the spending. I’d also like clearer reporting on reserves, debt, infrastructure needs and the long-term operating costs attached to major capital projects.