Bringing you information, opinions and views on the political scene in the Crowsnest Pass since 2008
Friday, April 13, 2012
Taxes in the Crowsnest Pass
Hearing through the grapevine we are looking at the following:
Three year tax increases of 2.5%, 2.5%, 2.5%
Water + Sewer rate increases of 4.5%
Electric rate increases of 6%
More to follow.
26 comments:
Anonymous
said...
My guess is that year 2 and 3 will be considerable higher than these projections as I doubt that they have taken into consideration that Devon will no longer be paying big taxes by then. I do not find these numbers to be that bad, the problem I have is that when our services go down I expect my taxes to follow.I understand inflation and beleive taxes should go up with inflation but if you cut my services then I expect taxes to also be cut.I am still looking for 1 major positive thing this council has done.Can anybody name me 1 MAJOR POSITIVE THING.
The devil will be in the details. What other sources of revenue are they tapping into? Will they be taking money out of reserves? Will they be closing facilities or cutting services? What other fees and charges are they increasing? Have they taken into consideration the loss of the Devon tax base? How much is it going to cost to settle an agreement with CUPE? Unfilled positions in administration, the office and public works will they be filled or just dragged out for awhile to balance the books? Many, many unanswered questions.
Talking about taxes. This council just refused to create six new tax rolls in Passburg on the advice that someone will see the land as a proper place for commercial development. Commercial development will need not only a proper road network and pavement, it will also need sewer and treated water. The sewer will need to run up hill all the way back to Bellevue. 2 million dollars will not service this land. Hopefully the owner will bring his proposal back to council in 19 months.
On a residence right now you are paying $50.60 for water every second month and $35.32 for sewer. So a 4.5% increase will amount to $2.28 on the water and $1.59 on the sewer for a total increase of $3.87 x six payments a year equals $23.22.
With roughly 3200 residences in the Crowsnest Pass it an additional $74,304 plus whatever additional comes in from commercial.
Do any of our counselors or mayor even work or need to make a living in Crowsnest Pass? They seem to be on a mission, that will get rid of the Hillbillies/miners and make room for more of their kind; retired, or consultants working from home, that do little to stimulate our economy. If they were trying to make a living, pay off a mortgage, raise a family, they would have a very different attitude on what should be expected from the taxpayer’s wallets. Something to think about, next election.
In a community that in not growing - no tax increase would have been a better option. 2.5 per cent is not too bad as long as it includes the school requisition. If it doesn't, the story will be entirely different. We may as well wait for the details.
I think this tax increase is very affordable. Be realistic, I do not think there is anyplace where there is 0% increase in taxes. Let me know if you know of a place and I will move immediately!
Wonder where all the "chattering do-nothings" here on this blog were when council was sitting all by themselves this weekend, with no one to talk to, at the municipal booth, at the Chamber Trade Fair?
Dean according to your numbers on the side of your blog the Municipality between municipal Taxation, the education and seniors portions they collected $9.3 million last year. If I times that by 2.5% that is $240,000 additional revenue. Between $200,000 extra for education, that leaves $40,000 for a pay increase for CUPE. So how do they pay for the extra staff they have hired? After reading both yours and Gallants numbers it looks like you are both saying that staffing levels increased? Something smells very fishy here.
So far this looks good. Let's wait to see what they have done with all the projected expenditures. There was not much reported open debabe in council regarding how they treated all the requests that were in front of them.
Sorry for going off topic, but regarding the coming election, we just had a good lesson in CNP. Like them or not, sometimes the devil you know is much better than the devil you don’t know. This is especially important when big promises are made which are not supported by any experience in governing. Time for some strategic thinking and voting.
We are supposedly in a "safe" Tory riding, so not much potential for strategic voting.
This does relate to taxes, since so much runs on provincial grants (to the municipality and also non-profits). Our "old guard" folks may suddenly have much less influence over where this money goes or how much is available.
The problem is not what the tax increase will be -- it is what we are now paying for taxes. As the Municipality expanded in area and the need to service these new developments, so did the need for "field" services. These new staff were a necessity.
Unfortunately, this new field staff appears to have justified a new expanded "improved" Admin staff that we simply can't afford -- and simply do not need.
Really, with nearly three times the population in the past, the Crowsnest was adequately administered by far fewer people. Why the increase? Well, to have a higher paying position, one needs more subordinate staff to justify the higher paid position. This is accomplished by bringing in the Consultants, who do what the masters they were hired by want. This then of course assures more consulting work. You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.
And on it goes, until we end up with the bloated unnecessary Admin staff that we now have in the Crowsnest Municipality. It's the same as with the School system, where the Admin staff grows and grows at the expense of the teachers who they are there to originally support. When the time comes to cut costs and staff, it is the teachers and janitors that go, and not the Administrators and their bloated support staff.
The same will happen in the present Crowsnest Municipality Admin. When the time comes to cut, it will be not be the staff that one walks by everyday in the office. It will be the "faceless" field staff, who the Admin are there to support, that will be the ones that are let go. Guess that's why we have Unions....
Dean from what I am reading in the Promoter the 2.5% is just the Municipal portion it sounds to me like we are really getting a 5% increase. The article is on line.
Just pulled out my tax bill for 2011 my home was valued at just over $300,000 I paid taxes of right around $2500. According to the Promoter the Taxes on a $300,000 home will go up $150 that is a 6% Increase am I doing something wrong here??????
The golf course in not owned by the municapality. So we know the mill rate is going up by 2.5% but we do not know if this includes provincial school tax?Dean do you know? Also the mill rate is only half of the puzzle. The other half being property value.What if your property value has gone up according to the municapality.I think it is based on the value last year sometime. I have seen it where the mill rate has gone way down and yet my taxes went way up because they deemed my property to be way more valuable. The question everyone should be asking is how much more of a budget do they need this year compared to last.Aby thoughts.
Well I am really surprised that the golf memberships are going up so much - $300 more than last year. Sparwood is half the cost here. What's up with that.
26 comments:
My guess is that year 2 and 3 will be considerable higher than these projections as I doubt that they have taken into consideration that Devon will no longer be paying big taxes by then.
I do not find these numbers to be that bad, the problem I have is that when our services go
down I expect my taxes to follow.I understand inflation and beleive taxes should go up with inflation but if you cut my services then I expect taxes to also be cut.I am still looking for 1 major positive thing this council has done.Can anybody name me 1 MAJOR POSITIVE THING.
The devil will be in the details.
What other sources of revenue are they tapping into?
Will they be taking money out of reserves?
Will they be closing facilities or cutting services?
What other fees and charges are they increasing?
Have they taken into consideration the loss of the Devon tax base?
How much is it going to cost to settle an agreement with CUPE?
Unfilled positions in administration, the office and public works will they be filled or just dragged out for awhile to balance the books?
Many, many unanswered questions.
Larry
Talking about taxes. This council just refused to create six new tax rolls in Passburg on the advice that someone will see the land as a proper place for commercial development. Commercial development will need not only a proper road network and pavement, it will also need sewer and treated water. The sewer will need to run up hill all the way back to Bellevue. 2 million dollars will not service this land. Hopefully the owner will bring his proposal back to council in 19 months.
We are losing and have lost so many businesses.doesn't less paperwork mean less admin staff??????
Dean what does a 4.5% increase on water and sewer mean to us tax payers?
On a residence right now you are paying $50.60 for water every second month and $35.32 for sewer.
So a 4.5% increase will amount to $2.28 on the water and $1.59 on the sewer for a total increase of $3.87 x six payments a year equals $23.22.
With roughly 3200 residences in the Crowsnest Pass it an additional $74,304 plus whatever additional comes in from commercial.
Do any of our counselors or mayor even work or need to make a living in Crowsnest Pass? They seem to be on a mission, that will get rid of the Hillbillies/miners and make room for more of their kind; retired, or consultants working from home, that do little to stimulate our economy. If they were trying to make a living, pay off a mortgage, raise a family, they would have a very different attitude on what should be expected from the taxpayer’s wallets. Something to think about, next election.
In a community that in not growing - no tax increase would have been a better option. 2.5 per cent is not too bad as long as it includes the school requisition. If it doesn't, the story will be entirely different. We may as well wait for the details.
There is much more to this story yet
I think this tax increase is very affordable. Be realistic, I do not think there is anyplace where there is 0% increase in taxes. Let me know if you know of a place and I will move immediately!
12:12 Let's see if that is the only number, or If other requisitions get added to this number later. It will mean a lot if this is the only number.
Wonder where all the "chattering do-nothings" here on this blog were when council was sitting all by themselves this weekend, with no one to talk to, at the municipal booth, at the Chamber Trade Fair?
JP
The mood was so negative at the trade show, I left.
Dean according to your numbers on the side of your blog the Municipality between municipal Taxation, the education and seniors portions they collected $9.3 million last year. If I times that by 2.5% that is $240,000 additional revenue.
Between $200,000 extra for education, that leaves $40,000 for a pay increase for CUPE.
So how do they pay for the extra staff they have hired? After reading both yours and Gallants numbers it looks like you are both saying that staffing levels increased?
Something smells very fishy here.
So far this looks good. Let's wait to see what they have done with all the projected expenditures. There was not much reported open debabe in council regarding how they treated all the requests that were in front of them.
Sorry for going off topic, but regarding the coming election, we just had a good lesson in CNP. Like them or not, sometimes the devil you know is much better than the devil you don’t know. This is especially important when big promises are made which are not supported by any experience in governing. Time for some strategic thinking and voting.
Anon Apr 16, 10:35 AM:
We are supposedly in a "safe" Tory riding, so not much potential for strategic voting.
This does relate to taxes, since so much runs on provincial grants (to the municipality and also non-profits). Our "old guard" folks may suddenly have much less influence over where this money goes or how much is available.
The problem is not what the tax increase will be -- it is what we are now paying for taxes. As the Municipality expanded in area and the need to service these new developments, so did the need for "field" services. These new staff were a necessity.
Unfortunately, this new field staff appears to have justified a new expanded "improved" Admin staff that we simply can't afford -- and simply do not need.
Really, with nearly three times the population in the past, the Crowsnest was adequately administered by far fewer people. Why the increase? Well, to have a higher paying position, one needs more subordinate staff to justify the higher paid position. This is accomplished by bringing in the Consultants, who do what the masters they were hired by want. This then of course assures more consulting work. You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.
And on it goes, until we end up with the bloated unnecessary Admin staff that we now have in the Crowsnest Municipality. It's the same as with the School system, where the Admin staff grows and grows at the expense of the teachers who they are there to originally support. When the time comes to cut costs and staff, it is the teachers and janitors that go, and not the Administrators and their bloated support staff.
The same will happen in the present Crowsnest Municipality Admin. When the time comes to cut, it will be not be the staff that one walks by everyday in the office. It will be the "faceless" field staff, who the Admin are there to support, that will be the ones that are let go. Guess that's why we have Unions....
Jose
Don't believe there is anything such as "safe" anymore. Times change, people need to keep up.
Dean any idea how much money they are putting into reserves?
A bit off topic - who controls the Golf Course - municipality?
The rates have really increased this year. Yikes.
Dean from what I am reading in the Promoter the 2.5% is just the Municipal portion it sounds to me like we are really getting a 5% increase.
The article is on line.
Larry
Just pulled out my tax bill for 2011 my home was valued at just over $300,000 I paid taxes of right around $2500.
According to the Promoter the Taxes on a $300,000 home will go up $150 that is a 6% Increase am I doing something wrong here??????
Rick
The golf course in not owned by the municapality.
So we know the mill rate is going up by 2.5% but we do not know if this includes provincial school tax?Dean do you know?
Also the mill rate is only half of the puzzle. The other half being property value.What if your property value has gone up according to the municapality.I think it is based on the value last year sometime.
I have seen it where the mill rate has gone way down and yet my taxes went way up because they deemed my property to be way more valuable.
The question everyone should be asking is how much more of a budget do they need this year compared to last.Aby thoughts.
Let's look for the positive according to the paper they are putting $48,636 into reserves.
Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
Well I am really surprised that the golf memberships are going up so much - $300 more than last year.
Sparwood is half the cost here. What's up with that.
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