I haven't been around much lately. Our daughter Ingrid recently bought a house in Saskatoon, which required some work before moving in - redoing floors, replacing the bathtub, that sort of thing. Fortunately, she has a Handy-dad, so I headed down there the day after she got possession, and I've been there ever since.
Long and tiring days, but I have to say that I was totally impressed by her friends. We've always known that she had the good fortune to meet some really nice kids at the Pottery Club at PACI when she was in junior high. Those friendships have lasted and the group has expanded over the years, and these now young adults come together to help each other out whenever required. So every evening they would come by after work - first to help rip out things, then to learn how to put things back together. Between the Tuesday before the long weekend and the Tuesday after, we ripped out the rotting front porch and replaced it, took out a bathtub, the rotting wall behind it, and the wall and a closet between the bathroom and the main bedroom, replaced the bathtub, sink and toilet, put down new linoleum in the bathroom and new flooring in the kitchen and main bedroom, put up a new wall, and moved Ingrid's furniture and three cats from her townhouse to the new house.
I certainly couldn't have done it as quickly or as enjoyably without their help, but they seemed to think that I was doing them a favour, since they want to learn how to be handy around the house, and delighted in learning how to do things like use a table saw, or glue together plumbing pieces. Their parents have raised them well, and should be very proud of Sarri, Jaryn, Matt, Jen, Susan, Diana, Lana, Stephen and Christina. They would work hard, then take a beer or whatever break, then work hard again, all the while carrying on conversations about life, work and other things.
It was great to be part of a group that had a common goal, and was willing to work hard to reach that goal. No shortcuts with this gang - when one wondered one evening if we really had to make sure that all the details were taken care of, another reminded her that doing slip-shod work was what had caused these problems in the first place. It's great to see young adults in their late 20s and early 30s aware of the importance of doing the job right.
As most of you are probably aware, we have no family close by. Knowing that Ingrid has this group of friends that she can rely on alleviates some of the normal parental worry - these kids have her back.
We all should be so fortunate.
"Friends are God's apology for relations." - Hugh Kingsmill
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Flinging Your Money with Wild Abandon, So That Things Will Look Lovely
At tonight's council meeting, not that it was any big surprise, council voted to spend more than $170,000 of taxpayers' money putting in an irrigation system for two new outdoor soccer fields at the soccer centre. Despite the fact that we just approved the budget for this year, this is a new and additional cost that will have to be paid for somehow. We don't know where the money is coming from, although it was claimed that some of it will come from an $80,000 surplus from last year - the first that I've heard of this surplus.
The statements supporting the motion illustrate the mind-set of most council members.
"We should do it now because it will cost more later" - just like costs for maintaining basic infrastructure will, but we have no problem putting those actions off.
"It's a first-rate facility, so we need to make everything around it first-rate" - let's ignore the various third-rate aspects of our city, like unpaved streets (which are still oiled to keep the dust down), lead service water connections, and ancient watermains that still break regularly.
"It's a beautiful facility, so the landscaping and surrounding fields should also be beautiful" - because, of course, the appearance of special use facilities matters far more than how well the city as a whole functions.
As usual, some council members feel that some projects need to be acted on immediately, rather than waiting until we have the money. Delayed gratification obviously isn't part of their operating philosophy.
When I questioned why this hadn't been included in the many-times-revised-upward soccer centre budget, I was first told that it was. This isn't true - if it had been part of the budget, we wouldn't have had to vote on it, because approval for this action would have been included in council's approval of the most recent facility budget. When I pointed out this discrepancy, I was then told that it wasn't part of the budget, because this is actually landscaping, which was odd, because we were also told that it was needed for two new outdoor soccer pitches, which to me sounds like part of what we're doing for soccer, rather than landscaping. Of course, with this additional action that will require considerable digging and placement of underground pipes, these fields won't be ready to play on real soon.
What I find particularly interesting about this single item is the number of complaints about the proposed funding that have arisen since the report was presented at Executive Committee last week. One citizen sent a email to all council members, suggesting that there are more pressing needs in the city, and considering the recent tax increase, this expenditure shouldn't be considered at this time, and that the vote on this should be recorded so that people could see where each member of council stood. I had a phone call from a resident of Ward Three, saying that the proposed expenditure made no sense at this time, and asking if there was any way of impeaching certain members of council. I had to tell him that I agreed with his take on the expenditure, but sadly, legislation provides no way of removing council members just for doing stupid things. Perhaps residents are starting to get tired of the continued lack of accountability in the way their money is spent.
Once again, image trumped common sense. For the record, we did have a recorded vote, and Councillor Miller, Councillor Cheryl Ring and I voted against it.
"You will find that truth is often unpopular and the contest between agreeable fantasy and disagreeable fact is unequal." - Adlai Stevenson
The statements supporting the motion illustrate the mind-set of most council members.
"We should do it now because it will cost more later" - just like costs for maintaining basic infrastructure will, but we have no problem putting those actions off.
"It's a first-rate facility, so we need to make everything around it first-rate" - let's ignore the various third-rate aspects of our city, like unpaved streets (which are still oiled to keep the dust down), lead service water connections, and ancient watermains that still break regularly.
"It's a beautiful facility, so the landscaping and surrounding fields should also be beautiful" - because, of course, the appearance of special use facilities matters far more than how well the city as a whole functions.
As usual, some council members feel that some projects need to be acted on immediately, rather than waiting until we have the money. Delayed gratification obviously isn't part of their operating philosophy.
When I questioned why this hadn't been included in the many-times-revised-upward soccer centre budget, I was first told that it was. This isn't true - if it had been part of the budget, we wouldn't have had to vote on it, because approval for this action would have been included in council's approval of the most recent facility budget. When I pointed out this discrepancy, I was then told that it wasn't part of the budget, because this is actually landscaping, which was odd, because we were also told that it was needed for two new outdoor soccer pitches, which to me sounds like part of what we're doing for soccer, rather than landscaping. Of course, with this additional action that will require considerable digging and placement of underground pipes, these fields won't be ready to play on real soon.
What I find particularly interesting about this single item is the number of complaints about the proposed funding that have arisen since the report was presented at Executive Committee last week. One citizen sent a email to all council members, suggesting that there are more pressing needs in the city, and considering the recent tax increase, this expenditure shouldn't be considered at this time, and that the vote on this should be recorded so that people could see where each member of council stood. I had a phone call from a resident of Ward Three, saying that the proposed expenditure made no sense at this time, and asking if there was any way of impeaching certain members of council. I had to tell him that I agreed with his take on the expenditure, but sadly, legislation provides no way of removing council members just for doing stupid things. Perhaps residents are starting to get tired of the continued lack of accountability in the way their money is spent.
Once again, image trumped common sense. For the record, we did have a recorded vote, and Councillor Miller, Councillor Cheryl Ring and I voted against it.
"You will find that truth is often unpopular and the contest between agreeable fantasy and disagreeable fact is unequal." - Adlai Stevenson
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Keeping the Faith
Not surprisingly, the budget passed third and final reading at a special council meeting on Monday, April 18, called in conjunction with the regularly scheduled Executive Meeting. We were given less than the required twenty-four hour notice of the meeting, but, as usual, that wasn't a problem for most of those in attendance. The job for many councillors appears to be to show up and vote without questioning anything.
A question that I often get from people is "How do you do it? How can you keep on beating your head against the wall?" I think that implicit in their questions is "when it appears that nothing is going to change, that most members of council are quite happy to keep collecting their salaries just for showing up and raising their hands when required".
My standard answer is "You do what you can." Perhaps at some point something so outrageous will be proposed that even those who regularly look to the front of the room before they vote will make an independent decision that actually considers the good of the taxpayers of Prince Albert. Or perhaps people represented by other members of council will let their councillor know that they aren't doing the job they are expected to do. Change will come - it is the way of the world. I keep hoping.
But in the meantime, I do it because that's what I was elected to do. The people who voted for me aren't around the council table, and they elected me to stand up for them. To not do so, to just vote with the majority of council because the conclusion is inevitable, and that way we'll give the illusion of being one big happy family, wouldn't be doing the job, as I understand it. I will continue to raise questions about proposed decisions, because that's how the best decisions are arrived at. And some questions I have to raise over and over, because I don't get answers.
Is it frustrating? You bet. Do I get tired of it? You bet. Am I going to change the way I approach the job? Not a chance. Too many people whose opinions I respect and value keep telling me to continue the fight, so I will.
"The only failure a man ought to fear is failure in sticking to the purpose he sees to be best." - George Eliot
A question that I often get from people is "How do you do it? How can you keep on beating your head against the wall?" I think that implicit in their questions is "when it appears that nothing is going to change, that most members of council are quite happy to keep collecting their salaries just for showing up and raising their hands when required".
My standard answer is "You do what you can." Perhaps at some point something so outrageous will be proposed that even those who regularly look to the front of the room before they vote will make an independent decision that actually considers the good of the taxpayers of Prince Albert. Or perhaps people represented by other members of council will let their councillor know that they aren't doing the job they are expected to do. Change will come - it is the way of the world. I keep hoping.
But in the meantime, I do it because that's what I was elected to do. The people who voted for me aren't around the council table, and they elected me to stand up for them. To not do so, to just vote with the majority of council because the conclusion is inevitable, and that way we'll give the illusion of being one big happy family, wouldn't be doing the job, as I understand it. I will continue to raise questions about proposed decisions, because that's how the best decisions are arrived at. And some questions I have to raise over and over, because I don't get answers.
Is it frustrating? You bet. Do I get tired of it? You bet. Am I going to change the way I approach the job? Not a chance. Too many people whose opinions I respect and value keep telling me to continue the fight, so I will.
"The only failure a man ought to fear is failure in sticking to the purpose he sees to be best." - George Eliot
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Limping to the End of the Budget Process
We had the first vote on the budget last week. Despite the initial information that was provided in December, indicating that 16% increase would be required to meet all of our delayed maintenance and other obligations, what has finally floated to the top is a $60 base tax and a 3.25% increase. How administration can line up these two widely disparate numbers is beyond me, particularly when the latest mantra is that the flat tax will go into a reserve fund - we'll see how long any reserve lasts with this council and its practice of spend first, budget later, most recently illustrated with the I-pad purchase.
I've blogged so much about this budget process that I'm tired of repeating myself, but I will say that I can't support this budget for several big reasons.
First, I can't support the flat tax. It puts a proportionally greater burden on low and fixed income residents. I know that $60 doesn't seem like much; I also know that now that the precedent has been set, it won't stay at $60.
Second, I can't support a budget that did not look at reducing spending - didn't even try. This council and administration follows the easy route of going to the tax payer rather than looking at spending first. This is lazy budgeting, and the citizens of Prince Albert deserve better.
Third, we are getting less and less information in the budget. Last year it was a one line police budget; this year, more and more detail of the other parts of the budget is getting summarized, which makes it difficult to figure out if we're spending too much in any area, or note areas where expenditures could be reduced.
Finally, the whole process is too secretive. We had too many meetings in which the budget was discussed, but which were labeled strategic planning so that the public wasn't allowed to watch. This is wrong.
Despite all of these problems, which are pretty basic as far as I'm concerned, most of council voted in favour of this pathetic excuse for a budget. Maybe they don't understand all of the implications, maybe they do, and just don't care, maybe, as one councillor told me after the meeting, they're just tired of the process and want to get it over with.
That's not why I was elected. Our job on council is to ask the hard questions, to look at all the alternatives, to think about what is best for all of the citizens of Prince Albert, and to think things through until we've come up with the best solution possible. A budget that has gone through that kind of thinking, I could support. Not this one.
"Life is tough. It's tougher if you're stupid." - John Wayne
I've blogged so much about this budget process that I'm tired of repeating myself, but I will say that I can't support this budget for several big reasons.
First, I can't support the flat tax. It puts a proportionally greater burden on low and fixed income residents. I know that $60 doesn't seem like much; I also know that now that the precedent has been set, it won't stay at $60.
Second, I can't support a budget that did not look at reducing spending - didn't even try. This council and administration follows the easy route of going to the tax payer rather than looking at spending first. This is lazy budgeting, and the citizens of Prince Albert deserve better.
Third, we are getting less and less information in the budget. Last year it was a one line police budget; this year, more and more detail of the other parts of the budget is getting summarized, which makes it difficult to figure out if we're spending too much in any area, or note areas where expenditures could be reduced.
Finally, the whole process is too secretive. We had too many meetings in which the budget was discussed, but which were labeled strategic planning so that the public wasn't allowed to watch. This is wrong.
Despite all of these problems, which are pretty basic as far as I'm concerned, most of council voted in favour of this pathetic excuse for a budget. Maybe they don't understand all of the implications, maybe they do, and just don't care, maybe, as one councillor told me after the meeting, they're just tired of the process and want to get it over with.
That's not why I was elected. Our job on council is to ask the hard questions, to look at all the alternatives, to think about what is best for all of the citizens of Prince Albert, and to think things through until we've come up with the best solution possible. A budget that has gone through that kind of thinking, I could support. Not this one.
"Life is tough. It's tougher if you're stupid." - John Wayne
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Ongoing Budget Confusion
Council continues to muddle through the budget process. Perhaps part of the strategy is for members of council to get so sick of the process that we just pass the thing at the next opportunity, so we can get back to talking about less stressful matters. But I would contend that setting the budget is the most important thing that a council does, far more important than any ribbon cutting or welcome speech giving, and it deserves all the time that we've given it, and much more thought and serious discussion.
I think that the flat tax (or base tax) concept is still not clearly understood by some members of council. At last week's executive meeting, it was suggested that the base residential rate be reduced from the proposed $100 to $60, and some members of council thought that sounded like an improvement. They may not have thought through all of the implications of even setting a base tax - once that is in place, our tax system will have fundamentally changed, and there will be nothing stopping future councils from increasing the base from beyond $60, or beyond $100, or whatever magical figure they pull out of the air - because, remember, there was no reasoning provided as to why $100 was a good rate (or $60).
Other members of council keep saying that people should pay their fair share. This seems to be based on the assumption that I mentioned in my last post - that everyone should pay an equal amount for fire and police services (as if that is all that your taxes go towards). One of the gaps here is that the police chief says repeatedly that a good portion of the people that the police deal with aren't from Prince Albert - how are they going to pay their fair share?
I wouldn't mind the fair share argument if we considered extending it to all of the services that all tax payers pay for. How about increasing user fees for such city-subsidized facilities as the golf course, the Art Hauser Centre, the Rawlinson Centre, the arts centre, or the field house? Not one of these services are used by a majority of the tax payers in the city, but they're all supported with everyone's tax dollars. People who use these facilities do not pay the full cost, which means that if your kids are in hockey or soccer or pottery classes at these facilities, the city helps to pay the freight, but if you have them enrolled in dance or piano lessons, you're paying the full amount for those activities to a small business owner. And many of the users of those city-owned facilities don't even live in the city, so they're not even paying the additional levy on your taxes that goes straight to the field house, rather than into a basic infrastructure maintenance fund. Perhaps we should have differential rates for non-residents as a start.
And, of course, we haven't seen any detail on the police budget, which will consume one-third of the budget. And for the remainder, there isn't sufficient detail to be able to compare, for example, how our snow-removal budget compares with other cities, so that we can determine if we're providing a reasonable level of service, or if other cities pay less per capita for such a basic service. I'm not talking about needing to know what is spent on pens and pencils in a year (although, mind you, if that number is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, we wouldn't have any way of learning that with the current budget), but of knowing where the money is going, and identifying where we could and should be spending less.
We should approach the budget from three directions - where could we spend less (reducing discretionary spending, reviewing where staff cuts could be made, handing over city-owned and maintained buildings that are for specialized groups), where could we recoup some of our costs (increasing user fees, having people pay for parking at city-owned facilities - those lots don't plow themselves, you know), and finally, and the last place we should be looking - increasing taxes based on the assessed values of properties, both residential and business.
This council assumes that we should keep on spending what we've been spending (and more), that staff levels should keep increasing, that more and more staff should be moved to management (and higher salaries), and that asking people who directly use city facilities to pay more for what they've always received for below market value might cause riots in the streets. Instead, council has been offered options for various tax increases, and each of these options will increase taxes at greater proportional rates for those residents on lower incomes. That's lazy and ineffective budgeting, and it just isn't good enough.
"If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to." - Dorothy Parker
I think that the flat tax (or base tax) concept is still not clearly understood by some members of council. At last week's executive meeting, it was suggested that the base residential rate be reduced from the proposed $100 to $60, and some members of council thought that sounded like an improvement. They may not have thought through all of the implications of even setting a base tax - once that is in place, our tax system will have fundamentally changed, and there will be nothing stopping future councils from increasing the base from beyond $60, or beyond $100, or whatever magical figure they pull out of the air - because, remember, there was no reasoning provided as to why $100 was a good rate (or $60).
Other members of council keep saying that people should pay their fair share. This seems to be based on the assumption that I mentioned in my last post - that everyone should pay an equal amount for fire and police services (as if that is all that your taxes go towards). One of the gaps here is that the police chief says repeatedly that a good portion of the people that the police deal with aren't from Prince Albert - how are they going to pay their fair share?
I wouldn't mind the fair share argument if we considered extending it to all of the services that all tax payers pay for. How about increasing user fees for such city-subsidized facilities as the golf course, the Art Hauser Centre, the Rawlinson Centre, the arts centre, or the field house? Not one of these services are used by a majority of the tax payers in the city, but they're all supported with everyone's tax dollars. People who use these facilities do not pay the full cost, which means that if your kids are in hockey or soccer or pottery classes at these facilities, the city helps to pay the freight, but if you have them enrolled in dance or piano lessons, you're paying the full amount for those activities to a small business owner. And many of the users of those city-owned facilities don't even live in the city, so they're not even paying the additional levy on your taxes that goes straight to the field house, rather than into a basic infrastructure maintenance fund. Perhaps we should have differential rates for non-residents as a start.
And, of course, we haven't seen any detail on the police budget, which will consume one-third of the budget. And for the remainder, there isn't sufficient detail to be able to compare, for example, how our snow-removal budget compares with other cities, so that we can determine if we're providing a reasonable level of service, or if other cities pay less per capita for such a basic service. I'm not talking about needing to know what is spent on pens and pencils in a year (although, mind you, if that number is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, we wouldn't have any way of learning that with the current budget), but of knowing where the money is going, and identifying where we could and should be spending less.
We should approach the budget from three directions - where could we spend less (reducing discretionary spending, reviewing where staff cuts could be made, handing over city-owned and maintained buildings that are for specialized groups), where could we recoup some of our costs (increasing user fees, having people pay for parking at city-owned facilities - those lots don't plow themselves, you know), and finally, and the last place we should be looking - increasing taxes based on the assessed values of properties, both residential and business.
This council assumes that we should keep on spending what we've been spending (and more), that staff levels should keep increasing, that more and more staff should be moved to management (and higher salaries), and that asking people who directly use city facilities to pay more for what they've always received for below market value might cause riots in the streets. Instead, council has been offered options for various tax increases, and each of these options will increase taxes at greater proportional rates for those residents on lower incomes. That's lazy and ineffective budgeting, and it just isn't good enough.
"If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to." - Dorothy Parker
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Three Big Reasons Why I Can't Support the Flat Tax Rate Proposal
As we come closer to the actual vote on the budget at tomorrow's council meeting, I thought that I would mention why I can't support the proposal that we received from city administration - and my reasons fall into three areas.
First, the proposal is unfair. Our previous tax system was based on the assessed value of a property. The reasoning behind that long-practised system is that people who own more expensive homes likely can afford to pay more taxes than people who own less expensive homes. It also indirectly recognizes that more expensive homes tend to be located in areas of the community which have a greater level of services - more parks and green space, for example, newer infrastructure, paved streets.
The new system will put in a flat tax of $100 on every residential property, then add on a percentage tax increase. One of the reporters for a local web-based news site has done some number-crunching that shows that applying this system will mean that a small home with an assessed market value of less than $100,000 will face a increase of about 10%, the owner of a mid-range property ($100,000 - $200,000) will face an increase of about 5.1%, and the owner of a high range property with a value of over $200,000 will face an increase of less than 3%.
There are some members of council who will say that the high-end property owner is still paying more tax, on a straight dollar to dollar comparison, than the lower or middle range property owner. I know that. The idea is that, similar to income tax, those who can afford to pay more should pay more. Presumably they have more disposable income, and, along with their more expensive home, can afford to pay more taxes. A 10% increase for a widowed senior living on a fixed income is going to cause far greater problems for her than a 3% increase to a double income family that has far more disposable income. And of course, the option for moving to a smaller house in a less prestigious part of town is always open to those who feel that the current system is unfair, but you don't see too many people doing it.
It's interesting that the proposed tax rate for commercial property owners is graduated, because it was seen as unfair to have the same flat rate for a small business owner as for a large business. Even so, the same projections show that a small business owner will have a tax increase of about 17%, the medium business an increase of about 6%, and the large business an increase of about 3%.
My second objection is that the proposal shows serious inconsistencies. The difference in approach between commercial and residential properties is one inconsistency. Another is the arbitrary difference between apartments and detached homes. A detached home will have a flat rate of $100. Apartment buildings will be assessed at $35 per apartment, even though an apartment will likely be home to the same number of people as a small house.
My final objection is the distinct lack of rationale for the setting of any of these rates. The only apparent objective was to raise $1 million through the flat tax alone, to be used in setting up a capital reserve fund (although this council has a bad habit of raiding its reserves for such initiatives as Neat and Clean). While setting up a reserve is certainly a sensible thing to do, and one that previous councils did through the debt reduction levy, which has now been directed solely toward the soccer centre until 2017, I wonder where the $1 million number came from. It doesn't appear to relate to the various numbers thrown out for future needs or for making up maintenance shortfalls from previous short-sighted budget decisions.
I wonder how we got to solving all our problems with a flat tax and a general increase of over 3%, when initial numbers suggested that a 16% increase would be required to meet all of our neglected maintenance needs. I would like to see proposals that clearly identify what money is needed, what money can be saved (and no, proceeding with status quo on discretionary expenditures is not acceptable to me), and then, options for finding the needed money, whether it be through increasing user fees, increasing the mill rate, reducing levels of service, or some combination.
What I find really disturbing throughout this whole discussion is the implication from some that those in lower-priced homes aren't "paying their fair share." In fact, in the anonymous comments sections of any of the articles on this topic, you're sure to find several comments along the lines of "people who live in those lower income areas are the ones calling the police and fire departments all the time, so they should pay more." What's most disturbing to me about this undercurrent is that somehow, people who live in the poorer areas of town deserve a lower level of service. The city would be better served if people realized that we need to get rid of this "us and them" thinking, and bring all levels of the city to a point where your address shouldn't matter.
I'm sure that both the police and fire get calls from all over the city. The only truly "fair" way of dealing with this would be to charge callers directly. And we could take this further - those with more children should have to pay more for education, and those who want to walk in Kinsmen Park should have to pay at the park entrance.
We don't, of course, because underlying the whole concept of municipal taxes is the idea that the city as a whole benefits from having a police force, whether we call them or not. Same with the fire department. We recognize that an educated population benefits society as a whole, and we are willing to pay for it. We recognize the value of green space, of parks, of community halls, of recreational and arts facilities. All of those amenities are supported by your tax dollars, as are streets, sidewalks, water mains, and other basic infrastructure.
I wish that council would spend its time trying to figure out how to bring up the basic level of amenities, across the city, to an equitable level, rather than worrying about complaints from people who point fingers at others, claiming that they aren't "paying their fair share", and not being thankful for the level of service that they enjoy.
"Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking that they hit a triple." - Barry Switzer
First, the proposal is unfair. Our previous tax system was based on the assessed value of a property. The reasoning behind that long-practised system is that people who own more expensive homes likely can afford to pay more taxes than people who own less expensive homes. It also indirectly recognizes that more expensive homes tend to be located in areas of the community which have a greater level of services - more parks and green space, for example, newer infrastructure, paved streets.
The new system will put in a flat tax of $100 on every residential property, then add on a percentage tax increase. One of the reporters for a local web-based news site has done some number-crunching that shows that applying this system will mean that a small home with an assessed market value of less than $100,000 will face a increase of about 10%, the owner of a mid-range property ($100,000 - $200,000) will face an increase of about 5.1%, and the owner of a high range property with a value of over $200,000 will face an increase of less than 3%.
There are some members of council who will say that the high-end property owner is still paying more tax, on a straight dollar to dollar comparison, than the lower or middle range property owner. I know that. The idea is that, similar to income tax, those who can afford to pay more should pay more. Presumably they have more disposable income, and, along with their more expensive home, can afford to pay more taxes. A 10% increase for a widowed senior living on a fixed income is going to cause far greater problems for her than a 3% increase to a double income family that has far more disposable income. And of course, the option for moving to a smaller house in a less prestigious part of town is always open to those who feel that the current system is unfair, but you don't see too many people doing it.
It's interesting that the proposed tax rate for commercial property owners is graduated, because it was seen as unfair to have the same flat rate for a small business owner as for a large business. Even so, the same projections show that a small business owner will have a tax increase of about 17%, the medium business an increase of about 6%, and the large business an increase of about 3%.
My second objection is that the proposal shows serious inconsistencies. The difference in approach between commercial and residential properties is one inconsistency. Another is the arbitrary difference between apartments and detached homes. A detached home will have a flat rate of $100. Apartment buildings will be assessed at $35 per apartment, even though an apartment will likely be home to the same number of people as a small house.
My final objection is the distinct lack of rationale for the setting of any of these rates. The only apparent objective was to raise $1 million through the flat tax alone, to be used in setting up a capital reserve fund (although this council has a bad habit of raiding its reserves for such initiatives as Neat and Clean). While setting up a reserve is certainly a sensible thing to do, and one that previous councils did through the debt reduction levy, which has now been directed solely toward the soccer centre until 2017, I wonder where the $1 million number came from. It doesn't appear to relate to the various numbers thrown out for future needs or for making up maintenance shortfalls from previous short-sighted budget decisions.
I wonder how we got to solving all our problems with a flat tax and a general increase of over 3%, when initial numbers suggested that a 16% increase would be required to meet all of our neglected maintenance needs. I would like to see proposals that clearly identify what money is needed, what money can be saved (and no, proceeding with status quo on discretionary expenditures is not acceptable to me), and then, options for finding the needed money, whether it be through increasing user fees, increasing the mill rate, reducing levels of service, or some combination.
What I find really disturbing throughout this whole discussion is the implication from some that those in lower-priced homes aren't "paying their fair share." In fact, in the anonymous comments sections of any of the articles on this topic, you're sure to find several comments along the lines of "people who live in those lower income areas are the ones calling the police and fire departments all the time, so they should pay more." What's most disturbing to me about this undercurrent is that somehow, people who live in the poorer areas of town deserve a lower level of service. The city would be better served if people realized that we need to get rid of this "us and them" thinking, and bring all levels of the city to a point where your address shouldn't matter.
I'm sure that both the police and fire get calls from all over the city. The only truly "fair" way of dealing with this would be to charge callers directly. And we could take this further - those with more children should have to pay more for education, and those who want to walk in Kinsmen Park should have to pay at the park entrance.
We don't, of course, because underlying the whole concept of municipal taxes is the idea that the city as a whole benefits from having a police force, whether we call them or not. Same with the fire department. We recognize that an educated population benefits society as a whole, and we are willing to pay for it. We recognize the value of green space, of parks, of community halls, of recreational and arts facilities. All of those amenities are supported by your tax dollars, as are streets, sidewalks, water mains, and other basic infrastructure.
I wish that council would spend its time trying to figure out how to bring up the basic level of amenities, across the city, to an equitable level, rather than worrying about complaints from people who point fingers at others, claiming that they aren't "paying their fair share", and not being thankful for the level of service that they enjoy.
"Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking that they hit a triple." - Barry Switzer
Sunday, March 20, 2011
An Excellent Example of How Not to Prepare a Budget
If there's anything to be learned from how this council works, it's that we are an ongoing example of how not to do things. We're consistently inconsistent, we ignore the rules, we pick image over substance at every opportunity, and speed over thoroughness. We claim to be open and accountable, but make decisions based on backroom discussions, and refuse to provide the most basic information about what it costs to run the city.
And what should be most concerning to the taxpayers: it appears that most members of council are quite all right with this, and see no reason to change the way we do things.
The recent budget process was, once again, an excellent example of how to bungle our way to a result that is confusing and inconsistent.
We first received the budget documents in late December. In late January, instead of passing the budget in a one-day cram session as has been our practice in the past, most of council voted to send it back to administration, asking for more details, for a list of discretionary expenditures that could be reduced and a plan for staff reductions. In the intervening six weeks, a few staff members' jobs were abolished, but we saw no plan or reasoning behind those abolishments. We have not received any more budget details, including details about the police budget, which is one-third of the city's budget. We have received nothing on what the city's discretionary expenditures are, or how they could be reduced. We did receive a rather disappointing report on implementing a flat tax a few days before the final budget meeting. That's it.
What we haven't seen is a breakdown of the budget that shows where the money is being spent, or any initiatives to reduce costs - limiting our paid advertising, or cutting down on floral decorations in Memorial Square, or cutting out custom-made Christmas cards, as a few examples that I've mentioned before. It seems that we're not willing to look at our spending patterns, and see where we could cut back. There have also been no suggestions as to other ways of covering our costs, such as increasing user fees at facilities. We'd rather just keep on doing what we've been doing, and bill the taxpayer for any shortfalls.
As a way of hopefully kick-starting some people into actually thinking of ways to save money, I had given notice of motion to freeze salaries for out-of-scope staff. Not only would this save money, since traditionally these staff get the same increase that is negotiated with unionized staff, but it would also send a message that, as a council, we are trying to reduce costs across the board. This made for some lively discussion at Monday's council meeting, as well as the usual ill-informed comments from some other council members. On Monday, I had suggested that I would be willing to amend my motion to limit an increase to cost-of-living, whereupon another councillor wondered where such information would come from, as though I was suggesting pulling a number out of the air. I'm rather surprised to find out that he doesn't know that these numbers are published regularly - Saturday's Star-Phoenix indicated that in February, the annual consumer price index had increased by 2.2% - there's a number that hasn't been pulled out of the air, and that I would be quite comfortable in setting as a cap. At any rate, after some discussion, which included suggestions from several members of council that this topic should be left to our budget meetings set for Friday and Saturday, I withdrew the motion. The result? When I raised it on Friday, other members of council claimed that they had made no commitment to discuss this, so it didn't happen.
What has been brought in, without much open discussion, is a flat or base tax. This has been brought forward at least once in every council term that I've been part of. It's based on the idea that everyone should pay at least a basic amount in taxes that isn't related to the assessed value of their home. I have consistently opposed a flat tax, because every report on it that I've seen shows the same thing - it means a greater proportional tax increase for low and middle income residents, and it isn't based on the full spectrum of benefits that come from the city. The usual simplification focuses on police and fire services, but ignores things like paved streets, green spaces, sidewalks, or access to recreational facilities.
At a council meeting in January, I believe, it was brought forward that a flat tax be part of the budget discussion. I objected at the time, partly because this was focused on residential properties, with no mention made of how such an assessment would be applied on commercial properties, and partly because it hadn't been discussed in council previously, and appeared to be made in this way so that the flat tax would be brought in the back door, as a way of achieving the agenda of some members of council. However, most other members of council voted in favour of this.
We got a report from the city manager last week, with just a few days to review before the budget meeting, which outlined a few projects that could be removed for budget savings, but with its main focus being options for a flat tax. Unfortunately, it appears that the various options have been pulled out of nowhere - there is no reason for the various numbers proposed, such as a connection to level of service provided. The main target appears to be to result in an income level of $1 million. Some councillors have suggested that this money be set aside in reserves, but it isn't clear for what, or what a target should be. We do have a mechanism for establishing reserves - the capital reserves levy. Unfortunately, that levy has been earmarked for a single purpose, the soccer centre, until 2017 (the original date was 2013, but overruns and additional embellishments took care of that).
As in previous years, the actual budget meeting took less than a day - I was home before 5 p.m. on Friday. Much of the time was spent debating the difficulty of setting a flat tax for commercial users. Apparently other members of council were able to recognize the inequity of having the same tax for a large store in a big box development and a small business downtown - that wouldn't be fair, someone said. But they have no difficulty in doing exactly that to a senior citizen who lives in an 800 square foot war-time home in Midtown, as compared to a two-income family in a 3,500 square foot house in Crescent Heights - that inequity is okay.
Although the budget was passed by the budget committee, it hasn't been passed by council yet. That will happen at the next council meeting. There is still time to voice your opinion to any member of council. Since we have a history of approving the budget as fast as possible, through special meetings, I would recommend making your opinion known quickly and directly.
It's too bad, really. I'm sure that most people, before being elected to council, intend to do their best to speak up for their constituents and the rest of Prince Albert. I guess, that for some, when the going gets tough, it's not worth the effort.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." - Edmund Burke
And what should be most concerning to the taxpayers: it appears that most members of council are quite all right with this, and see no reason to change the way we do things.
The recent budget process was, once again, an excellent example of how to bungle our way to a result that is confusing and inconsistent.
We first received the budget documents in late December. In late January, instead of passing the budget in a one-day cram session as has been our practice in the past, most of council voted to send it back to administration, asking for more details, for a list of discretionary expenditures that could be reduced and a plan for staff reductions. In the intervening six weeks, a few staff members' jobs were abolished, but we saw no plan or reasoning behind those abolishments. We have not received any more budget details, including details about the police budget, which is one-third of the city's budget. We have received nothing on what the city's discretionary expenditures are, or how they could be reduced. We did receive a rather disappointing report on implementing a flat tax a few days before the final budget meeting. That's it.
What we haven't seen is a breakdown of the budget that shows where the money is being spent, or any initiatives to reduce costs - limiting our paid advertising, or cutting down on floral decorations in Memorial Square, or cutting out custom-made Christmas cards, as a few examples that I've mentioned before. It seems that we're not willing to look at our spending patterns, and see where we could cut back. There have also been no suggestions as to other ways of covering our costs, such as increasing user fees at facilities. We'd rather just keep on doing what we've been doing, and bill the taxpayer for any shortfalls.
As a way of hopefully kick-starting some people into actually thinking of ways to save money, I had given notice of motion to freeze salaries for out-of-scope staff. Not only would this save money, since traditionally these staff get the same increase that is negotiated with unionized staff, but it would also send a message that, as a council, we are trying to reduce costs across the board. This made for some lively discussion at Monday's council meeting, as well as the usual ill-informed comments from some other council members. On Monday, I had suggested that I would be willing to amend my motion to limit an increase to cost-of-living, whereupon another councillor wondered where such information would come from, as though I was suggesting pulling a number out of the air. I'm rather surprised to find out that he doesn't know that these numbers are published regularly - Saturday's Star-Phoenix indicated that in February, the annual consumer price index had increased by 2.2% - there's a number that hasn't been pulled out of the air, and that I would be quite comfortable in setting as a cap. At any rate, after some discussion, which included suggestions from several members of council that this topic should be left to our budget meetings set for Friday and Saturday, I withdrew the motion. The result? When I raised it on Friday, other members of council claimed that they had made no commitment to discuss this, so it didn't happen.
What has been brought in, without much open discussion, is a flat or base tax. This has been brought forward at least once in every council term that I've been part of. It's based on the idea that everyone should pay at least a basic amount in taxes that isn't related to the assessed value of their home. I have consistently opposed a flat tax, because every report on it that I've seen shows the same thing - it means a greater proportional tax increase for low and middle income residents, and it isn't based on the full spectrum of benefits that come from the city. The usual simplification focuses on police and fire services, but ignores things like paved streets, green spaces, sidewalks, or access to recreational facilities.
At a council meeting in January, I believe, it was brought forward that a flat tax be part of the budget discussion. I objected at the time, partly because this was focused on residential properties, with no mention made of how such an assessment would be applied on commercial properties, and partly because it hadn't been discussed in council previously, and appeared to be made in this way so that the flat tax would be brought in the back door, as a way of achieving the agenda of some members of council. However, most other members of council voted in favour of this.
We got a report from the city manager last week, with just a few days to review before the budget meeting, which outlined a few projects that could be removed for budget savings, but with its main focus being options for a flat tax. Unfortunately, it appears that the various options have been pulled out of nowhere - there is no reason for the various numbers proposed, such as a connection to level of service provided. The main target appears to be to result in an income level of $1 million. Some councillors have suggested that this money be set aside in reserves, but it isn't clear for what, or what a target should be. We do have a mechanism for establishing reserves - the capital reserves levy. Unfortunately, that levy has been earmarked for a single purpose, the soccer centre, until 2017 (the original date was 2013, but overruns and additional embellishments took care of that).
As in previous years, the actual budget meeting took less than a day - I was home before 5 p.m. on Friday. Much of the time was spent debating the difficulty of setting a flat tax for commercial users. Apparently other members of council were able to recognize the inequity of having the same tax for a large store in a big box development and a small business downtown - that wouldn't be fair, someone said. But they have no difficulty in doing exactly that to a senior citizen who lives in an 800 square foot war-time home in Midtown, as compared to a two-income family in a 3,500 square foot house in Crescent Heights - that inequity is okay.
Although the budget was passed by the budget committee, it hasn't been passed by council yet. That will happen at the next council meeting. There is still time to voice your opinion to any member of council. Since we have a history of approving the budget as fast as possible, through special meetings, I would recommend making your opinion known quickly and directly.
It's too bad, really. I'm sure that most people, before being elected to council, intend to do their best to speak up for their constituents and the rest of Prince Albert. I guess, that for some, when the going gets tough, it's not worth the effort.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." - Edmund Burke
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