Reaction cool to proposed civic property tax hike
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation wants to deliver a message to Saskatoon city council as it considers a second straight tax hike of more than seven per cent.
“Give your heads a shake if you think the average taxpayer can afford a 14 per cent increase in two years,” said Colin Craig, the federation’s Prairie director. “What needs to be central to any budget discussion is ‘ What can residents afford?’ ”
The City of Saskatoon’s preliminary budget, released Monday, proposes a 7.32 per cent tax increase for 2015 after a 7.43 per cent hike in 2014. The increase in 2013 was 4.99 per cent.
Craig said an increase of this magnitude will be especially tough on seniors since their pensions only rise by about one or two per cent a year.
He said municipalities should find cost savings by contracting out more work to the private sector and changing employee pensions from the defined benefit variety to defined contribution plans, to avoid the need for governments to bail them out.
Craig noted the former provincial NDP government changed most of its employee pension plans to defined contribution and the province has avoided some of the serious financial issues other governments face.
According to Statistics Canada numbers from 2010, fewer than one-quarter of non-government workers have pension plans, he pointed out.
The provincial government also increased its annual contribution to Saskatoon to $47.3 million in 2013-14 from $17.8 million in 200708, making the need for tax increases of such a high magnitude even more puzzling, Craig added.
“That’s close to tripling in the span of (six) years,” he said. “Municipalities
“I REALIZE THAT COSTS ARE RISING, BUT I’M DISAPPOINTED TO SEE AN INCREASE, AND SUCH A LARGE INCREASE.” DALE LEMKE, NORTH SASKATOON BUSINESS ASSOCIATION
are getting a pretty good handshake from the provincial government.”
Kent Smith-Windsor, executive director of the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce, pointed out the proposed increase only applies to the municipal portion of residents’ property tax bills, which accounts for just over half of the total; about 42 per cent goes to schools and slightly more than five per cent to libraries.
Smith-Windsor said he believes people can handle the increase, and stressed that people have asked for an improved road system and he has heard lots of positive feedback on the first year of the aggressive roads program.
The effort to fix roads accounts for 2.29 per cent of the increase and is expected to be repeated next year.
However, he added the hike “will have an impact” on business and that increases of this size are not sustainable.
“There’s reticence for this (increase), but there’s some support for the enhanced service,” Smith-Windsor said. “We’re just saying that you can’t keep doing this year after year.”
Smith-Windsor applauded efforts by city administration to find operational savings and said the chamber has been lobbying for 12 years to see more efficient and more productive municipal operations. The increase for civic operations in the preliminary budget is just 0.30 per cent.
“Productivity has been a challenge for all of Canada,” Smith-Windsor said.
Dale Lemke, president of the North Saskatoon Business Association, said he would rather city officials find savings in their own departments instead of raising taxes. The increase will have a negative impact on the city’s ability to attract people and business, he added.
“I realize that costs are rising, but I’m disappointed to see an increase, and such a large increase. I would certainly like to see government tighten their belts.”