To the editor:
At the eleventh hour, I again write to ask council to re-open the 2017 city budget before they ratify the 2017 tax policy that they passed Monday night.
How could city administration not foresee a $2.7 million budget surplus for 2016 while budget deliberations were taking place in February of this year.
City administration projected an unfavourable year end variance of $3.2 million on July 25,2016,but could not see that it was to turn out to be a $2.7 favourable variance during 2017 budget deliberations instead.
There is no reason for city council and administration to tax residents this year an extra $2.7 million so they can put it into a reserve fund as they are doing in this year’s budget.
The surplus of $2.7 million from last year’s budget can easily replace the $2.7 million city administration and council want to tax residents.
Before city council ratifies the 2017 tax policy it should reopen the 2017 city budget and decrease the tax increase by using the surplus instead of taxing residents.
This would reduce the additional 10,000 number of residential properties who will be seeing a property tax increase in the $101-$150 range.
Henry Wojak,
Thunder Bay
