Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Municipal Finance Story

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/covid-19-municipal-finances-bc-explainer-1.5548685

4 comments:

Anonymous said...


"Don't let an emergency go to waste" is an old adage

I think it is just the right time, to take a page out of that play book, and make constructive changes. To restructure our municipal tax system.

The prospect is that there will be a lots of pressure on property owners who will find it difficult to pay their taxes this year. This is an opportunity to make the argument that the Province should allow municipalities broader sources of revenue and strengthen municipal resiliency.

Administrators have been reluctant to change a system that is so "reliable" even though unfair. Well maybe not so reliable now. It is hard to compel payment from people who don't have the money

The province has been studying "alternate" forms of revenue for years, For example consumption taxes, that would take some of the burden off property owners, who may own but not have the current revenue or cash flow to pay assessment based taxes.

Tofino is the perfect place to try this on. A prime example of where the inequity of the property tax system, and the cost sharing burden between tourists and residents, is clear. We pay disproportionately for the services "they" use.

It is hard to cipher what Tofino Council is currently going on about.
However, if talk of "restructuring" and "inequality" is about this kind of change to the municipal tax system. I am all for it.

Strike while the iron is hot.

Jack Gillie

Anonymous said...

Oh the district is concerned alright. They've had a worker cleaning the downtown area garden beds for days when there's nobody here to enjoy them.
The spending continues as normal what the district seems to ignore is that they don't actually know when cash flow will return. They also don't know as the previous writer notes, where that cash flow will come from.
Yet they keep spending.

Anonymous said...

Districts loyalty to it's workers would be laudable for any business. But whatever their sense, be it duty or self satisfaction, it comes to easy. Especially when you are spending someone else's money.

Anonymous said...

Planning dept increase
Admin salaries increase
New truck for fire dept

The Budget stinks
Josie wants 2 task forces to do what...talk to the same people shuffled around.
Just move on to provincial or federal politics. It’s how we got ride of the least intelligent man to ever sit on council...who just got a raise to over 200k plus at least 100k in benefits, during covid. He should site on you task force Josie.
God help us cause this mayor sure won’t.