From Thunder Bay’s 2016 Corporate Tax Policy Report, I read that “Urban Service Area By-laws were established when the City was first amalgamated as a
fairness measure so that citizens who did not receive the benefit of certain services (transit, street lighting, sewage and drainage and garbage collection) did not pay for them.”
Fair enough, even though some will make the argument that we all pay for services we may not use, such as school tax once the children leave home.
The point to counter that is that the service is available if needed. How can a person be expected to pay for transit for example, if the bus is not even available in their area?
This brings me to the urban service called sewage and drainage on a property tax bill. I was informed by city administration that “the sewage and drainage levy on the property tax bill relates to storm sewers and land drainage.”
The total sewage and drainage levy charged to residents with that service was reduced in 2016 because the Enhanced Infrastructure Renewal Fund (EIRP).
which everyone pays into was used to reduce the levy. Specifically, $1.4 million of EIRP was used for storm water management in Northwood. Note residents without sewage and drainage are in effect subsidizing a service that is not available to them.
Where is this fairness measure mentioned in the Tax Policy that citizens who do not receive sewage and drainage services do not pay for them.
Besides getting rid of the EIRP which has become a joke considering how the original capital of revenue is being depleted by this mayor and council, all the mayor and council have to do is not allow administration to use the EIRP for so called Urban Services.
Henry Wojak, Thunder Bay
