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Originally Posted by ken0042
The problem is people show it as a 10% increase; when it's really the 5% that was dicussed months ago. It sells newspapers and makes people watch newscasts; when all it is is the gov't shuffling the deck.
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The problem is that 5% increases are so commonplace that council doesn't sneeze at an extra 5%.
A herald editorial on the weekend nailed this issue: the city plays a shell game with finances. City revenue has grown 82 per cent since 1996. Population 24.65 per cent (from the article)
The 'cry poor' routine is a load of hooey.
When council plans on 5% tax hikes every year - on top of extra development fees, on top of user fees, on top of huge money from the feds and province - there's a spending problem.
Still, had they simply spent the money to offset next years planned tax increases I would have been fine. Instead they found new projects that weren't important enough to make the 3 year plan and they'll
still hike taxes next year.