To the editor:
The mayor, and with the exception of three councillors, have passed the 2013 city budget.
According to the Chinese zodiac the Year of the Snake officially started Feb.10, where “delusion and deception are common in the year of the snake” and 2013 is living up to those traits in my opinion.
Administration and council are trying to squeeze an extra $2.5 million from taxpayers this year so that the city will have a total of $7 million in the EIRP (Enhanced Infrastructure Renewal Plan).
This plan will enable the city to provide pavement rehabilitation to the tune of $9.6 million in 2013. Where the delusion and deception come in is that before EIRP was ever conceived an average of $8.3 million in pavement rehabilitation was carried out between 2005-2009. Call me old-fashioned, but I have a hard time to pay for something and not get value for my money.
Yes, Mr. Mayor we want improved infrastructure, and you are taking our money, but the work is not being budgeted for. I would not have much to say if property taxes in a comparison of like properties in the 2012 BMA Municipal Study did not show Thunder Bay housing above the average.
Knowing that dividends from the casino and TBayTel provide $19.4 million collectively to city coffers and property taxes in Thunder Bay are still above average does not help matters.
So Mr. Mayor and council, do not waste $900,000 for the phase 3 study on the event centre before it goes to plebiscite and use the money for pavement rehabilitation and eliminate the $2.5 million contribution to EIRP this year.
The city manager notes that emergency services are the drivers for the increase in the operating budget, but the mayor and council do nothing to try and control them.
Instead they bring up the issue of high emergency service costs at the FCM (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) or as an agenda item at the Intergovernmental Committee, but do nothing as a mayor and council to try and control the costs.
The city manager who earns a living off tax dollars that puts him in the one per cent has to be reminded that not everyone feeds from the public trough and can afford his ambitious goals.
Do not tell me that we have to fix our infrastructure because it apparently is not being addressed in the 2013 budget, with regards to roads anyway.
Henry Wojak,
Thunder Bay
