Despite a successful Olympic campaign, the city of Vancouver finds itself saddled with a $553.1 million bill for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
According to The Associated Press, a report will be presented to city council detailing the debt, the bulk of which was for infrastructure and does not include payment from the federal government. The overall bill of $727.6 million is not far off the expenses of the city itself for a year. The city's budget for 2010 is $959 million, a number reached only after a 22.6 percent tax increase and liberal cuts.
The cost of the Games also does not include the $1 billion Olympic athletes village, of which the city had to assume responsibility for after the primary financier backed out.
"It's more than I think some taxpayers will expect to see," said city councilman Geoff Meggs. "On the
other side there are some very, very long-term and important legacies."
