On behalf of the , I spoke at the budget meeting on Nov. 23, about the significant financial hardship the frequent increases of our property taxes impact our seniors with fixed income incomes.
I failed to provide specific figures, which may be why no one from council or staff ventured to respond.
What follows are the facts – the increases over the period 2005 to 2020.
*4.78% was the average annual increase for the 麻豆社国产municipal taxes, excluding utility charges, for a modest single-family house in Valleycliffe.
Yet, by comparison, the Canadian CPI (Consumer Price Index - inflation), as provided by the Feds, rose only 1.64% on average, annually.
Consequently, property taxes over this 15-year period took a 58% greater chunk out of a CPI indexed Canada Pension income.
I expect that all can agree such a wide divergence is not reasonable on a long-term basis.
I urge council to reverse this trend by closely examining staff’s justifications for all currently proposed budget items.
Two items in particular spring to mind — I am sure you can find others:
The planned developer-provided lift bridge across the Blind Channel that the muni will have to maintain in perpetuity at a cost to the taxpayer in year one, from $170,000 up to $300,000 for operating the bridge alone. This was reported as the staff’s figure on June 13, 2020 by The Chief Newspaper.
Why should the taxpayer at large cover this cost when the benefit mainly flows to the residents of the SEAandSKY [Waterfront Landing] development? They ought to pay for it by way of a utility charge, just like garbage collection. A simple drop-in-place fixed-trestle bridge parallel to the existing railway bridge would cost nothing to operate, and far less in maintenance. And furthermore, it would shorten the walk to two grocery stores and The 55 Activity Centre.
The replacement of the heat pump at The 55 Activity Centre at a budgeted cost of $70,000. This facility will only be 15 years old when this work is proposed to start in 2023 according to the five-year financial plan (page 48). In my experience, a conventional furnace will last at least 25 years. Why did we accept such a substandard product in the first place?
Herbert Vesely
President, 麻豆社国产Seniors Centre Society
