I am curious as to when this city and its governors are going to wake up to the realities of the economy that we all live in. I have just received my property tax notice for 2009 and to no surprise, but to my dismay, it has once again increased.
We all know that property values have decreased significantly. The reality is that this property tax assessment and notice is based on a couple of things. The first is the assessed value of the property. Again to no surprise and rightly so, the property value assessment has decreased. No problem there.
The other factor is the mill rate, and here is the issue. Council receives feedback from administration regarding assessed values. In times such as we are in, they factor in the decreasing assessment and then make a decision to raise the mill rate to compensate for that decrease and thusly, the city receives relatively the same revenue from property taxes that they received the year prior.
How many of us are in the position to live the same amid changing and declining circumstances? In addition to artificially increasing the mill rate, council on advice from administration, approves the city budget. They then increase mill rates further if need be to meet the budget demands. Again, where is the accountability to the citizens when it comes to making all the necessary cuts required in the times we are in? How can citizens of this city, and by most accounts a great city, continue to support increases in revenue to the city when our own revenue streams are shrinking?
When is it going to change? What is it going to take? I am just asking …
Todd Werre, St. Albert
