To the editor:
Thunder Bay Television reports on the activities of our latest city council and recent items on their agenda appeared to have all the atmospheric conditions for the perfect storm which may befall us beyond the walls of city hall.
Admittedly, the world events of the past several months greatly overshadow the potential turmoil right here in the Bay.
What is happening beyond our municipality’s borders in the world impacts us in very different personal ways but council’s decisions over the next period will eventually impact the common pocket book here.
Flashback to January 7, 2015, the ominous report by the city manager that over the past number of years the city has lost $5 million because of the re-assessment of commercial properties by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. The potential consequences are higher taxes or reduced services.
What arrogance of these private corporations striving to reduce their costs in part through lower property taxation at the expense of the municipalities.
Then on January 12, 2015, an administration report on the state of our wastewater system forecasts the need to increase the sewer surcharge from 75 per cent to 90 per cent, a mere average increase of $80 but in consideration of the median household income of $80,000. Here is a definition of “median it is of a set of numbers where half the numbers are lower and half the numbers are higher. The average of a set of numbers is the total of those numbers divided by the number of items in that set. The median and the average might be close and they might not. It all depends on the numbers.”
According to Statistics Canada the current household debt rose to 162.6 per cent of disposable income, the Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz’s assessment is that indebted households facing a potential drop in real estate prices represents the biggest risk to the country’s financial system.
Also it would appear that those city hall analysts have not factored in the rising costs in hydro, heating and of property taxes in their presentation. Or have they considered that we could be facing an unfavourable year end budget variance ranging from $3.59 million to $4.41 million as reported by TBT News on Nov. 26, 2014.
Whatever the deficit amount is, it will be factored into the 2015 property tax increase.
With the Christmas season over last year, city council limited the increase to fund Shelter House to $20,000. Then on Jan. 12, 2015, the Thunder Bay and District Poverty Reduction Strategy recommended helping lower income persons with affordable transit.
On the same night, the Staal Foundation Open put forth a request to council for $20,000 in cash and $20,000 in kind, mostly for transit.
Is the dilemma facing council providing transit for the poor or for those to attend a sporting event?
Hopefully, the majority of us will be financially grounded to face the upcoming monetary storm facing city hall.
Emil Pohler,
Thunder Bay
