I have just finished reading an article in the Guelph Tribune which advises Guelph residents of Council’s proposal to increase property taxes yet again by 3.74% in order to balance the budget. It also mentions the suggestion of cutting snow plowing services in order to reduce some costs.
This seems to be the first thing most of the Councillors can think of, i.e. raise the taxes and cut the services. The residents of this City already face higher taxes and poorer services than the residents in most of the surrounding municipalities.
It is time this Council started being accountable to the residents who pay these taxes and who also voted them into office, and start cutting wasteful spending such as the $10,000 spent on an “Ethics Report” which was a total waste of time and money. I could quote many other areas where this Council are wasting money and not being fiscally responsible. It is time the Council started living within its means and not spending like there is no tomorrow, and then expecting the property owners to cover the cost of its gross mismanagement of city funds. In addition, to suggest removing the sidewalk snow clearing is ludicrous as well as being short-sighted. The liability implications that could be faced by this City far outweigh any savings. In other words, “penny wise, pound foolish”.
This proposed increase will mean around $174 to our household budget, and as seniors on a fixed income it is an added expense my husband and I can ill afford, and one that is not necessary if the budget was being correctly managed. We didn’t work hard all our lives to get a nice home to live comfortably in our retirement, to end up paying inflated property taxes because this Council cannot manage its budget.
As Mayor of this City, it is your responsibility to ensure this Council is run efficiently and not to lead the charge on wasteful spending and tax increases which has been your record so far since taking office. As a taxpayer, I would like an accounting of what efforts have been made to cut wasteful spending before such an increase is pushed through. SG