Atchison hides behind stale-dated credit rating

Mayor Atchison likes to tout Saskatoon’s AAA credit rating.

However, that was last year's rating. And a year is a lifetime for big-spending Mayor Atchison.

In the last year alone Mayor Atchison nearly doubled Saskatoon’s civic debt, from $89 million to $156 million.

This of course is typical of Atchison's out-of-control spending. Since he was elected, Atch quadrupled Saskatoon's interest charges, sextupled the public debt, and ran four consecutive deficit budgets. All while raising taxes at a rate 50% above inflation.

Yet Atchison is still itching to spend more, such as his $58 million art gallery nobody asked for.

What does all this mean for Saskatoon’s AAA credit rating?

In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Stephen Ogilvie said the keys to strong municipal credit ratings were “low debt, lots of cash in reserves, strong operating performances and generally good conservative management.”1

Let’s quickly review Mayor Atchison’s fiscal management for 2009 against this criteria:

• Low Debt - Atchison doubled Saskatoon's debt.


• Lots of Cash in Reserves - Atchison bled dry Saskatoon’s rainy day fund.


• Strong Operating Performances - On Friday, the Frontier Institute reported that Saskatoon scores the worst in providing data to even properly assess performance.


• Generally Good Conservative Management - You be the judge.

When credit ratings go down, borrowing costs go up. And when borrowing costs go up, taxes rise.

A new credit rating is coming. And things aren’t looking rosy for Atchison’s debt-laden Saskatoon.


1 Tavia Grant. (18 March 2004). S&P rates Canadian municipalities tops. The Globe and Mail, B11.