Quote:
Originally Posted by MolsonExport
such bs. How many of you got a 8.8% raise last year? Mine has been half of inflation for 4 years running now.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by haljackey
What's also sad is that we're on the lower side of property taxes too. Some other cities are projecting double digit increases as well.
The latest jump got the LTC some, but not all of their requested funding, and the Libraries got a chunk to keep operating at roughly status quo.
These big jumps just tell you how chronically underfunded stuff was in the past... we're paying the price now. Example- remember Joe Fontana's tax freezes? Ya we are feeling that.
|
Bear in mind that using the consumer price index as a comparative tool can be misleading in this regard. Municipalities don't buy much carrots or children's clothing for example. More informative indicators are the Municipal Price Index (MPI) - which is a more reflective of the cost of what and how much goods and services municipalities purchase, and the building construction price index (BCPI) - which is more reflective of much of the more expensive Capital purchases that a municipality makes. My understanding that the MPI for 2023 is between 4% and 6% for most municipalities, and in the third quarter of 2023 the non-residential building construction price index was 6%. A key point is that's 6% of very expensive things, so when the cost of a $25 million bridge goes up by 6%, that's a lot of money. The City's inside staff will get a 3% salary raise in 2024, which will probably be the average CPI for the year.
Haljackey makes a very good point: the tax freezes made by (borderline incompetent) city councils of past years have come home to roost. Couple that with rapid population and physical growth, and there is a recipe for trouble... and here it is.
M.E.: Your point of not receiving an 8.8% pay raise is certainly valid. I'm sure almost nobody received that sort of pay raise. However, if municipal taxes were to rise only in line with the consumer price index (which is what tax payers have to set their household budgets to), then at some point it's almost certain that the municipality will have to reduce services - as that cost to provide those services will very frequently be higher than the CPI and out of control of the municipality.
In the future, it will come down to increasingly more difficult discussions of where the communities' priorities lie, and what to say no to. The debates will get more passionate, and more frequently coloured by political leanings in terms of social policy, and just how much of a role should municipalities play in society.
Prev
Linear Mode
