Tic-TAX-Toe, the numbers Game at City Hall
By Ben Meisner
Thursday, May 19, 2005 05:30 AM
The recent spin from Prince George City Hall on the increase in your tax bill leaves one wondering whether they think homeowners and owners of small and large business just fell off the truck. The spin? “Homeowners will pay more for their taxes due to higher assessments”. Now do you suppose if you had higher assessments you could then reduce the mill rate? In the case of the city, it was almost like it was selling 40-oz bottles of pop in saying the average house taxes will go up by 2.99%, not 3 per cent, just 1/100th of a point below that psychological mark. Did they round it off to three knowing full well the assessments in some cases will make that figure higher than three? By the way if you are wondering just how much have my home taxes increased since 1997, will you be surprised to know that figure is 28%? It would be rare indeed if you run into someone who has had an increase of 28% in their wages over the past eight years. To then try and spin that increase by saying the increases have been held to the inflation rate is sheer rubbish. When the population dropped by ten per cent (which just happened to fall into the time period I’ve mentioned) what did City hall do? It spent more. If, as City Hall has said, it was holding the increases to the rate of inflation, then I’m sure someone can explain to me what happened to the additional $1,772,970 dollars in gaming revenue and the additional $992,683.00 dollars in traffic fine revenue (up from $258,000) that went into the city coffers during that period? With such a huge hike in traffic fine revenue, you only need look at the increasing numbers of traffic stops to see where the emphasis is in police work. Nail ten drivers with a seat belt infraction in the morning and you’ve made your day. Suddenly it appears that the thrust in police work is about trying to extract money out of the motoring public to hand over to the city and province. I’m equally as sure that wasn’t the original idea of why we established police forces across this nation. But now back to City Hall; it may only be a little thing but don’t you feel that when you cast your eye over at the Multi-Plex suite (now the choo-choo station) set aside for the city hall brass and watch them enjoying a hockey game, you kind of feel that it’s your money providing that luxury? Well you’re right In the 2004 budget $5,226.00 was set aside for that privilege. Taxpayers, for the most part, don’t mind paying their fair share, they just want to know where its going and without a lot of smoke and mirrors attached.
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Posted by: Tiger on May 21 2005 11:16 AM
That’s a major problem and an obvious weakness and bias in the city’s budget consultation process.
Presumably city administration, and their supposed political masters on city council, don’t believe we can have a higher level of service while at the same time reducing the tax burden. This is lazy thinking, lack of will, lack of skill or some combination of the three.
Everyone else in the world is expected to be better at his job this year than last year. Every corporate entity, from the private sector to the non-profit sector, is expected to operate more efficiently as time goes on.
Why not the City of Prince George?
Consider also millions in additional revenue from gaming, the Terasen deal, speeding tickets and the “garbage can tax,” and one has to wonder why there was a property tax hike this year.
Thankfully, unlike the survey, the opportunity to choose more service and less tax will be available to voters in November.
Shawn Petriw, Prince George