To the editor:
To maintain the status quo, Thunder Bay city hall is proposing to increase taxes by $6.64 million in 2018.
If I recall, this proposed increase is a few hundred thousand dollars more than the increase for last year. At the end of the third quarter last year it was projected the city at year-end may end up with a favourable variance of $2.8 million on the tax-supported side. So was it necessary to increase taxes that much last year when such a favourable variance is expected?
Also, was it necessary last year to raise taxes to cover one time expenditures that amounted to about $1.3 million?
Well how about taking the cost of those one-time expenditures off our tax bills for 2018.Remember it was a one time expenditure, so how many times over do we have to pay for it?
This reminds me of the hospital debenture that we are still paying for, eight years after it was paid off.
The 2017 BMA Municipal Study lists the municipal burden for Thunder Bay (taxes and water and wastewater costs) as a percentage of household income at 5.3 per cent and is considered high when compared with 101 other municipalities in Ontario.
There aren‘t nearly enough crutches in the world to support the $6.64-million proposed tax increase for 2018.
Henry Wojak,
Thunder Bay
