Tax Hike 3 or 5 Percent?
Had the pleasure of being a panelist on Radio Roundtable on CFIS, Prince George’s community radio station last week.
Last week one of the other panelists was former City of Prince George councillor Cameron Stolz.
So, of course, discussion turned to the city and, more specifically, the city budget. Barring a last-minute top-up for the RCMP, council looks on par to bring in a budget representing a three per cent increase over last year.
Or are they?
Not according to Stolz who, on the radio show, said the increase is more in the five per cent range. He suggested that the city has not divested itself of the 2015 Canada Winter Games levy, which is about two per cent. It was a temporary levy to pay for the games and combining a two per cent levy that should have come off with a three per cent increase equals five.
Is he right?
Well, yes and no.
Firstly, the Canada Winter Games levy will not be applied to taxpayers in 2016. City director of finance Kris Dalio makes that quite clear in his letter council, which is the first item on the agenda at the budget talks, and it costs: “The elimination of this levy in 2016 will result in the overall tax levy being $2,081,884 less than it otherwise would have been,” he told council.
So, all things being equal, the city started this year’s budget deliberations with $2.1 million less to play with because the games levy won’t be applied.
Last year, in her letter to council to open budget talk, then director of corporate services Kathleen Soltis, told council that a general operating fund of $128.2 million would be needed to run the city. This year, Dalio informed council that general operating expenditures of $131.8 million were needed in the general operating fund, which is slightly more than a three per cent increase over the $128.2 million needed last year.
Hold on, shouldn’t the $2.1 million for the Canada Winter Games levy have been subtracted from the $128.2 million amount first, giving a starting point of $126.1 million? If so, that would put the increase to $131.8 at close to five per cent.
It appears that the city has, indeed, accounted for Canada Winter Games levy being discontinued. That’s good. But then it also seems that the three per cent budget increase is from the amount with the game levy included.
Bear in mind that a three per cent budget increase doesn’t necessarily mean a three per cent tax increase. If the city can increase its budget by five per cent and only increase taxes by three per cent, that’s good work. It means it found money elsewhere.
For the taxpayers, however, the key is to take a good look at your tax bill when it comes out in early June and hopefully you kept last year’s. That’s the only way to truly know how much your taxes went up or down (don’t forget to take into account whether your assessment changed).
And, to get on Coun. Albert Koehler’s bandwagon, successive city councils have brought in tax increases of between 2.5 and five per cent pretty consistently for the past couple decades. Maybe it’s time for a zero per cent increase for a change.
Bill Phillips is a freelance columnist living in Prince George. He was the winner of the 2009 Best Editorial award at the British Columbia/Yukon Community Newspaper Association’s Ma Murray awards, in 2007 he won the association’s Best Columnist award. In 2004, he placed third in the Canadian Community Newspaper best columnist category and, in 2003, placed second. He can be reached at billphillips1@mac.com
Comments
131.8 million dollars to run a city of 80,000 people amounts to $1647.50 for every man, woman and child in this city. That’s a lot of money just to ensure that 800 or so people have cushy jobs.
Well they could get rid of the fire department, but then your house insurance would go up…
“So, all things being equal, the city started this year’s budget deliberations with $2.1 million less to play with because the games levy won’t be applied.’
The Winter Games are over and done with! One may assume that the Games are actually paid for! So the City does not need to continue the special levy! It appears that it does and the only game that is still going on is playing with numbers and labels.
Prince George .. according to sources and published the games was supposed to be in the black..not the red. Of course no one actually could get the real numbers.
So what the council will do is remove the 2 percent and tack it some other place. It will be called transparency!
Is the snow levy an extra tax or part of this increase? What ever has happened with the storm water levy they were contemplating?
Cameron has had as much trouble coming up with the extra $ for property tax in the past, now on the other side of the fence he wants council to be fiscally responsible? Albert is the only councilor calling for no increase, and has been for years. Our great core review increased service fees but has failed to lower taxes to the common folk so was a double whammy from that council term. We actually do need a revolt, and that straw is coming – tax payers matter
Proof read (which is hard to do on a smartphone as the text box jumps all over the place)… Cameron has had as much trouble coming up with the extra $ for property tax in the past – “as the rest of us have” – I thought but failed to type into my smartphone…
J13136..good point..did ya know that we have more then 23 FF’s that make get this $100,000 a year…Lyn green and crew…more Beers at more events…that will fill yer coffers…and a cell or 2…
Posted on Thursday, December 10, 2015 @ 9:33 AM by tliotg with a score of 1
J13136..good point..did ya know that we have more then 23 FF’s that make get this $100,000 a year…Lyn green and crew…more Beers at more events…that will fill yer coffers…and a cell or 2…
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I don’t mind paying firefighters a decent salary. The 5 HR people making 6 figures each though is something I have to wonder about.
J13136..good point..did ya know that we have more then 23 FF’s that make get this $100,000 a year
How many hours in overtime do they have to work to make that kind of money.. their base pay is what we need to know.. their job is actually critical to save lives.. but paying anyone in a office more than $100,000 is just nuts.. lots of money for shuffling papers and getting free trips.
I know my pay can swing $20,000 a year just from a ton of OT. But that is also me working approx. 2400 hrs a year.. guessing the soltise or what ever her name is puts in about 1500 hrs a year for her “job” fyi the average person works about 2080 hrs a year.
time to hack and slash at city hall.
Why don’t people clean their own residential streets? Everyone seems to have snowblowers so why not just clean the street in front of your house when you do your driveway…..could cut way back on snow plows and loaders and the people hired to run them. AND nobody would be complaining their street hasn’t been plowed!! Win win :-) taxes could be cut substantially.
regional district here I come . and the door won’t hit my arse on the way out either . heard the new over payed unqualified guy offloaded from unbc speaking on the radio about the new website , makes me sick what they pay him and what the city is paying for the website . only a wealthy fool would continue to keep paying these tax increases year after year .
“……which is hard to do on a smartphone as the text box jumps all over the place”
So, in other words, the phone is actually not all that smart.
I wonder who ever dubbed a small hand held computer with an embedded telecommunication program with that stupid name.
“Everyone seems to have snowblowers”
Take a survey and you might find it is less than 5%. That is what I would say in my 40 year old subdivision in the bowl. It would be higher in some parts of the city and lower in others.
In fact, in walking my dog recently I have found that instead of dumping snow on the sides of the driveway there are a few people who push the end of the driveway onto the road.
Jim13136, I don’t have a snowblower, I use a shovel. Are you suggesting that i should shovel my street? I don’t think so! What about seniors, are they to shovel or snowblow their streets too? Give your head a shake.
Firefighters have a dangerous job. That being said, their job is dangerous when they are actually fighting a fire, and more so when they are fighting a substantial fire.
Most of the time they are on standby, which includes making sure all machinery and equipment works, driving around town to check out new buildings, alarm systems, etc.
The pay rate for the totally different types of tasks should be different, in my opinion. Pay them $50 to $60thousand for regular pay and then top it up with danger pay for the actual hours they are on a fire.
Compare compensation for firefighters in the USA versus those in Canada and one will see a differential of at least 20 to 30% higher pay in Canada.
I ask myself the question why is that?
Gopg, you can’t compare wether wages in Canada to the USA. It’s not apples to apples..
Why can you buy a car for %20 less in the us
Why can you pay %50 less for Internet (at faster speeds )
In some states you can write off the interest on your mortgage
Travel is cheaper
Gas is cheaper
Food is cheaper
Income tax way cheaper
Etc etc.
goph2015, you state:
“Compare compensation for firefighters in the USA versus those in Canada and one will see a differential of at least 20 to 30% higher pay in Canada.
I ask myself the question why is that?”
Haha, you and I both already know that answer to that question!
Hmmmm, could it have anything to do with taxpayers in Canada being held for ransom by big Public Sector Unions?
hart guy… or could it be the cost of living is so much lower.. or that the stat we see for our fire fighters are not their base rate..but we are seeing the base rate for the states.. don’t let the facts or true data stop your distaste for unions hart guy… what fun is the truth when it doesn’t support your “theory”
Funny.. pretty sure the states might have one or two unions ;)
P Val, yes, it could be because of some or all of those things, BUT it could also have something to do with as I said earlier, taxpayers in Canada being held for ransom by big Public Sector Unions!
P Val, let’s forget about the good ol’ USA for a minute. Perhaps you can explain to me why Public Sector Workers in Canada are paid 20 to 30% more, MORE than Private Sector workers in Canada doing comparable work?
Could it be the cost of living? NOPE, both groups live in Canada!
Could it be because gas is cheaper? NOPE, both buy gas in Canada!
Cheaper food? NOPE!
Cheaper travel? NOPE!
Cheaper cars? NOPE!
Cheaper internet? NOPE!
So P Val, tell me, why are Public Sector Workers in CANADA being paid 20 to 30% more than Private Sector Workers in CANADA for doing comparable work?
Wouldn’t have anything to do with taxpayers being held ransom by big Labour Unions? Nope, no way, couldn’t be! COULD IT??
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