Dear Publisher,
I heard you described in the last issue as being “apoplectically angry” that taxes weren’t being increased enough in the Township. I hope you have had appropriate medical help.
Your thoughts that “a lot of people want the taxes raised” doesn’t stand up to any kind of scrutiny. Most candidates ran the last election on keeping taxes down. Citizen groups want taxes down. The NBP Advocates have always had lower taxes as a mandate and currently SEPO is objecting to the recent attempts at a ~ 4.8% increase when the cost of living only rose ~ 2%. I have yet to hear one citizen (besides yourself), say that they would like their taxes raised. I would say you are in a very select group if indeed such a group exists.
I find statements comparing us to “other Townships in Bruce county” worrisome and showing a very unsophisticated line of reasoning. Firstly we are the smallest Township and secondly we have the least services. More importantly, we residents pay 93% of the taxes and the vast majority of us live far away from any of the facilities you mentioned. Indeed for about 3 months of the year we are totally crowded out of them by tourists who are enriching the elite 7%.
Those of us who have been parents realize that saying that you are doing something because other Townships are doing it is at the mental level of your 13-year-old wanting to go cliff climbing because “Jamie’s mother let him go so why not meee!”. Is that really where we are? That is the backbone of the reasoning here?
We are largely a retirement community with most living far from the 2 villages. Facilities to help commercials handle tourism and hence make more money should be bourn by the profiteers and great care must be taken not to blur the line of who pays.
Let me say that I am also a year-round resident who cares about the community – this does not mean that you throw money at a non-itemized bag of nice sounding theoretical projects without a cost benefit analysis – and without in-depth community conversations of any new projects. For example – bicycle lanes have been found to be incredibly expensive as per the Toronto experience so the issue would be, is there such a demand here? Is it rational? This is not Toronto so minimal usage would be an issue – again you need a cost benefit analysis. And imagine the great environmental cost and the shear ugliness of two additional oily asphalt lanes all the way to Ferndale. No frogs living there…talk about a footprint…
Finally, maintenance money and minor capital expenditure are certainly needed. But more and more of it should come from decreasing costs to run the Township. All other business and organizations in the world are shrinking their production costs and staff due to computers, modern optimization methods, contracting out, new tendering processes etc. For example, you Sir used to bemoan the “tremendous Township labour” it took to clean up around the dumpsters as you campaigned against them. After they were removed over Christmas one year I didn’t hear of any staff reductions. Did you?
Hopefully these thoughts will bring you more in line with the thoughts of the resident community remembering that they are the folks that pay the freight.
Regards,
Kevin Doyle, Dorcas Bay
