One question that I hear frequently is how I would approach property taxation and financial planning as Mayor and if I would support tax increases in future years. While I would love to say that this question is easy to answer, it is sadly not straight-forward or reasonable to answer with a simple “yes” or “no” response. Rather, fair taxation is more like a balancing act where the focus is placed squarely on maintaining effective financial management practices, conducting regular financial oversight and forecasting, and making strategic investments that can achieve stronger and more sustainable results for taxpayers.
0% Tax Increases = Higher Future Costs
To address the elephant in the room, it is unfortunately not possible to pass annual budgets without any form of tax increase and any politician that campaigns on that kind of message is simply misleading voters.
Each year, the Township is faced with inflationary pressures (similar to private households) and we are simply not able to absorb all of these incremental cost increases without either tax increases or service cuts (or both). Whether it is the cost of gas going up, staff salaries or raw materials (like gravel, salt and sand), budgets cannot simply stay at the same level and support the same level of services.
For example, in the Township, we have seen the impact of 0% to 1% tax increases during the 2010-2014 Council term. During this term, taxes were held down despite inflationary pressures of approximately 2% annual inflation and what happened was that infrastructure maintenance was deferred, resulting in higher costs to taxpayers in the long-run. It resulted in municipal buildings that were literally falling apart and the need for much more significant tax increases between 2014 and 2018.
Fair Taxation Is The Way To Go
What I can say is that I believe that tax increases should be moderate, generally in line with the cost of living (approximately 2-3% per year). This level of increase would cover most of the inflationary costs and allow us to put some money into reserves (municipal savings accounts) to help to offset big construction projects in future years without sole reliance on debt financing.
My Active, Transparent Budgetary Approach
My plan to approach the financial management of the Township is simple: Focus on what matters and adopt financial best practices so that taxpayers can have confidence that their tax dollars are being spent wisely.
Financial Controls
As Mayor, I would work with Council, staff, Township Auditors and knowledgeable community experts to identify areas for improvement in the current financial controls in place at the Township. As financial management practices are consistently changing, there are always new best practices that we should be adopting to make sure that our tax dollars are being spent wisely and as efficiently as possible.
Community Focus
As Mayor, I would work with Council and staff to bring the focus of the budgeting process back to the communities that we serve. It is not just a nickle and dime counting exercise but a financial process that has real effects on our residents both in terms of the overall tax rate and the level of services that we are able to offer.
To that end, Township finances should be described in language that can be easily understood by all and in formats that the average Township resident would be able to find easily. A Community Finance Dashboard could be designed on the Township website to showcase financial information for residents in an easy to digest format including budget versus actual spending, major project status, tax rate trends, debt levels and reserve balances. It could also be used to highlight progress on the Township’s Strategic Plan, innovative programs / services and opportunities for the public to get involved with their Township.
Multi-Year Tracking
As Mayor, I would work with Council to direct Township staff to prepare financial budgets that include financial analysis of each line item over multiple fiscal years. With a 3-year rolling trend, Council would be best able to allocate tax dollars effectively so that it is going to the right things and that savings are re-directed to community priorities.
Future Forecasting
As Mayor, I would work with Council to direct Township staff to have a proactive forward-thinking look at our finances in order to identify future infrastructure needs and how we are going to pay for them. We need to have a solid plan in place for our roads, buidlings, vehicles and other assets so that we do not saddle future generations with big bills that we could easily have planned for.
Public Consultation
As Mayor, I would work with Council and staff to plan and hold public consultations in advance of the annual budget process and on the proposed annual Operating and Capital Budgets. This would be an opportunity for the Township to share the Township’s budgetary realities with the community in an environment that is deliberately set up to allow the community to contribute their thoughts and perspectives on where the Township should be investing tax dollars for the upcoming fiscal year.
Oliver Jacob for McNab/Braeside 