There’s a runaway train at town hall and our representatives need to do a better job hitting the brakes.
In just two short months council has gone from contemplating a three per cent budget increase to a whopping 9.5 per cent increase, leaving our heads spinning, and apparently theirs as well.
Our representatives need to do a much better job at keeping on top of spending at the municipality. It’s easy to criticize other levels of government, but only if your own house is in order.
It wasn’t that long ago that Huntsville’s CAO Kelly Pender was talking during a corporate services committee meeting about a two per cent inflationary increase and a one per cent increase to staff salaries. “Two per cent on inflation and one per cent on payroll costs,” he said in November. Although there were further suggestions on how to get to a zero per cent increase at that time, the increases Pender was referring to were hikes we could certainly have lived with. But a 9.5 per cent increase?
When was the last time you got a 9.5 per cent pay increase?
While we understand not all councillors are accountants, there are seasoned representatives who we would hope are able to stay on top of escalating costs. Weighing heavy on our tax dollars is new infrastructure that still isn’t being used to its full capacity, and some of us — even the most optimistic among us — are starting to wonder if it ever will. There’s a lot to be said about biting off more than you can chew. It seems the G8 Summit wonderlust is waning, and piper has come calling.
Then there’s this administration’s wild west restructuring urge, which has not only created hardship and acrimony in our community, but apparently thrown us even further into the red. We’re still holding our breath and our belt waiting for the benefits, and we’re not spotting anything on the horizon.
To say a near-double-digit tax increase is more palatable because other levels of government will be holding theirs is a sad statement on the state of affairs in the Town of Huntsville.
Council needs to get back to the drawing board. Perhaps the divestment of some of its assets is in order, or maybe it ought to consider the prospect of uploading some of its own functions to save money through economies of scale. Either way, raising taxes and increasing user fees for families is not the answer, nor is castigating those looking to use green energy by making it more expensive to get municipal approval, as per a story in this week.
We know our councillors mean well, now it’s time to do well by us. Roll up your sleeves and get back to the drawing board. A 9.5 per cent increase impacting 30 per cent of our tax bill is too much. Many of us are looking for work or have to work several jobs to make ends meet. Please bring it down.
T.d.V