Archive for February, 2011
Tax Season – Again
by admin on Feb.27, 2011, under GUELPH, POLITICS, PUBLISHED COLUMNS
GREGORY CAWSEY
As I did my federal taxes this past week, I was happy to see a modest decline in my taxes this past year.
The ‘Harper hundred’ given every month for each of my boys under six has helped — even though it is taxable — and the fitness credit was of some benefit.
Of course this little tax relief at the federal level is more than eaten at the local level, which has been the case for sometime now no matter what party is in office.
Lately, my federal taxes continue to go down, the provincial taxes stay the same and my municipal taxes keep going up. No wonder my issue is with the level of government that keeps taking more of my money.
Now let me say I’m not one of these ultra right- wing zealots who scream every time a local politician spends more of their money. I am well aware of the downloading of services that the municipality now needs to pay for. I also believe in some income redistribution to meet city goals for the greater good.
But with that also comes the expectation that I want to see my elected officials being cognizant that they have to spend within their means.
I’m not sure if that has been the case here locally, but that’s the great thing about living here in Guelph. I don’t need to feel guilty if I’m not doing enough for the environment or contributing enough to community-based social services. All I have to do is remind myself that I pay Guelph property taxes and reflect on how much I have given and will continue to give.
Debating the merits of where our property tax dollar goes however, is not my current focus of concern.
What bugs me is the new rationalization for the annual property tax increase — that it has to be raised to keep up with inflation.
I heard this from the mayor of Toronto, David Miller, who wrongly indicated there would be no property tax increases in that city, only a cost of living increase.
I have heard that same argument given here, but the last time I checked, the annual cost of living has been running much lower than annual property tax increases.
What makes things worse is that every time they reassess my property it goes up in value, so I am getting hammered on both ends of this calculation.
I’m sure my situation isn’t unique. In fact, I haven’t heard of anyone who has had their home reassessed at a lower price.
So if the tax pie keeps getting bigger each year, why the annual tax hikes at a greater rate than inflation?
Some say it’s needed to pay for all of the city’s growth, but growth if managed properly should pay for itself.
So the only possible conclusions that can be drawn are that our local politicians have managed our city’s rapid growth poorly or they are unable to say no when it comes to increased spending.
My guess is that it has been a combination of the two.
But before we look to criticize our local government, we do need to look in the mirror.
Voter turnout and media attention is greatest for a federal election and lowest for municipal. Yet, the issues that will affect us most in our day-to -day lives are decided at our local city hall. If we don’t take our local politics more seriously and urge each other to get involved, then the branch of government that is growing in importance and taxing us more and more suffers.
Whether it is on Parliament Hill or your local city hall — the best thing and the worst thing about democracy is that people get what they deserve.
Canada’s Pending Decisions
by admin on Feb.21, 2011, under ECONOMY, RANDOM THOUGHTS
As the baby boomer’s fade into the sunset – there are a number of issues that Canada will have to finally decide upon. Many of theses items have been left on the back-burner because they represent change – something stability craving, conservative boomers try to avoid. So what are the issues – here are just a few:
- Getting rid of the Monarchy – when Charles becomes the King of Canada look for this issue to come up
- North American Perimeter – this issue is just starting to gain traction – but wait till the issue of a common currency is first addressed for the real debate to begin
- Election Reform – the “past the post” system has survived challenges in the past – but with changing demographics reforms might actually take place
- Widespread use of Biometrics – starting to take hold – look for more uses as our population skews younger and less adverse to these security measures
- Native Issues – anyone who has studied or just seen the state of too many native reserves in this country knows the deplorable living conditions present in such a rich country like Canada. Having a comprehensive review of this file has been necessary for awhile but it will take political will – a younger generation more concerned with injustice or compassion could make it a priority.
- Two-tiered healthcare – with boomers soon to be using our universal healthcare system at an alarming rate – reforms will be necessary to avoid every dollar collected in tax going into healthcare spending
- Agricultural Subsidies – the developed world including Canada use these to prop of our Farmers and keep them profitable so that are domestic food sources are protected. Of course this goes against free trade and severely hurts the economies of poorer countries around the world. A younger generation – may feel less threatened on this issue and may move to a more level playing field for countries that can produce food in greater abundance and at a lower cost.
These are just a few off the top of my head – feel free to add your own or make a comment. I will add more later as well.
THANKS GUELPH FOR CONSERVING YOUR WATER – NOW PAY MORE!
by admin on Feb.13, 2011, under ENVIRONMENT, GUELPH
The water conservation rebate program here in Guelph represents just one more example where City Hall has extended itself beyond its mandate and spent beyond its means.
Under normal circumstances when a business has less demand for its product they cutback staff and look to reduce costs. Not in Guelph. We add to staff and the long term financial burden that comes with it.
So why is your water bill going up? For starters, past Guelph Councils decided to bribe you, with your money – to get you to reduce your water consumption. Rebates are handed out for installing water saving appliances in your home. Apparently, conserving to reduce the cost from your water bill wasn’t incentive enough.
Some might wonder – what’s the problem with a rebate – its free money from the city. Trouble is the cash isn’t free – it is paid for by you and me as part of our water bill. Last year alone, according to the Waterworks department rebates cost over $800,000.
Now with people using less water – Guelph’s Waterworks Department has had less revenue to keep up with administration costs. So to cover their fixed costs water bills are going up again. This year the City agreed to increase water bills by – 10% in part to make up for the loss of revenue due to conservation.
It’s gets stranger. Now the waterworks department is asking the city to add more full-time personnel to their department during a period of falling demand. Seems, there are not enough staff to go around and administer the City’s self-imposed rebate program. More staff are now needed to make sure the water saving devices are installed as claimed.
Helping the environment in Guelph sure does cost you. You conserve to reduce your water bill and it goes up anyway with higher rates. Then your property taxes go up to help pay for salaries and benefits of the new inspectors who administer the City’s nanny state initiatives.
To be fair, Waterworks has indicated that the water conservation program saves the City over $130,000 annually and delays eventual infrastructure upgrades. This savings however is well shy of the $1.6 million annual cost of the conservation program that pushes people to conserve. The program should be scaled back by ending the rebates in order for costs to at least be in-line with projected savings. Otherwise, it is just another costly expenditure that hurts Guelph fixed income earners the most by adding to our perennial eye-popping tax and water rate increases.
Of course many groups who profit from the rebate program want it to continue and even expand. But this is just self interest at play from these groups who profit from the extra business they gain from customers who get rebates for using their goods and services.
Perhaps the City should just let market forces do their good work and stop using our money to push their own environmental agenda. Don’t get me wrong here, with a young family, I care deeply about the environment and conservation, but the cost of hydro alone should be the lever used to motivate people to conserve.
Most troubling with this misguided plan are its potential unintended consequences. I have heard from many frustrated citizens who did make a concerted effort to reduce their water consumption in order to protect the environment (and their wallets). I am sure they are wondering like me – what’s the point. Hopefully, they don’t give up on conservation altogether under a plan that has good intentions, but fails in practice. Giving rebates for something people were going to do anyway is just a poor use of funds.
Running a municipality isn’t glamorous work. Your mandate is to effectively administer programs that the province has handed on down. It demands sound financial management where over spending beyond your means is shunned. In Guelph, we overspend on initiatives outside of our mandate and then cut essential services during the summer in order to cover up budget shortfalls caused by poor decision making.
Perhaps some on City Council should consider other careers if making sure the buses run on time and the garbage is collected each week, doesn’t appeal to their greater sense of moral purpose.
Fighting for a worthy cause is certainly noble, but putting the city in a financial hole to do so – is not.
