Tax increase was 'as good as we're going to get'
Editorial

Show us a person who really enjoys paying taxes, and we'll show you the product of very vivid imagination.

Show us a person who thinks taxes should be abolished, and we'll either show you someone who's very selfish or a knucklehead.

Show us a person who accepts taxes and regular tax increases as a necessary part of the society in which we live, and we'll have someone we can address in this forum, because that will enable us to talk reality.

Caledon councillors passed their budget last week, complete with a 5.7 per cent tax increase. There will be some out there who would consider such a tax hike excessive, but we have to harken back to what might have been. Late last year, council was looking at the possibility of a 7.6 per cent increase, and things went up from there. Just a couple of weeks ago, Town staff presented a budget proposal calling for an 8.1 per cent hike.

All of a sudden, 5.7 per cent doesn't sound so terrible.

Since none of us really enjoys paying taxes, it's hard to quarrel with the last-minute efforts last week of Bolton's two councillors, Jason Payne and Annette Groves, who tried to get the increase reduced even more. Payne advocated dipping into the Town's reserves to knock another percentage point off the increase.

"I'm a taxpayer myself," Payne commented after the meeting. "I would have appreciated the break."

A very good point that some members of the public might be inclined to forget; namely the tax increases councillors impose on their constituents, they also impose on themselves.

But as Town Treasurer and Director of Corporate Services Sam Jones pointed out, that percentage point reduction would have cost about $240,000.

Council could have gone into the reserves for those those dollars that would have reduced the tax increase, but would that have been wise use of those funds? Reserves are there for a reason, and we would argue that using them to further reduce a tax increase that had already been knocked down by 2.4 percentage points this month would have been frivolous. True, people might appreciate the break today, but that would have meant $240,000 wouldn't be available later, if needed.

It was mentioned a couple of times at last Tuesday's meeting that a recession might be in the wings, waiting to drop a load of misery on the Canadian economy. We certainly hope that won't be the case, but we have to be prepared. Taxpayers might be facing tougher times a year from now, and a property tax break might come in mighty handy. No matter what kind of tax increase council might be looking at in February 2009, there might be a very good case to be made for knocking a percentage point off of that. We know where they might be able to find some $240,000 that were not used this year.

And as we look at what the tax increase is going to be, let us not forget what it pays for. There are a lot of municipal services many of us rely on, and might be inclined to take for granted.

Caledon fire fighters dealt with three major fires last week, scattered all over Town. Fire trucks don't come cheap, but they save a lot of lives.

Recreation facilities don't come cheap either, but a lot of families use them. Hockey arenas are busy this time of year, and outdoor facilities are going to be seeing plenty of use in the months to come.

And we all drive the roads of Caledon, so we want them to be in good repair. We also want them to be safe, with the snow cleared away as quickly as possible. This has been a taxing winter on the public works facilities on this Town, and the winter is not over yet. There are financial obligations that result from that.

Councillor Richard Whitehead correctly warned against cutting back in any of these areas. "We'll pay a fearful price later," he observed.

With the combined taxes going to Peel Region and toward education, Caledon's property tax increase stands to be 3.3 per cent. True, the Region's tax increase was lower than Caledon's and education components have been frozen by the province. But the Regional and education authorities were operating under different conditions and circumstances.

Considering the demands being placed on the councillors in Caledon, they have come up with something that's appropriate for the residents.

As Whitehead himself put it, the results "is about as good as we're going to get."