Are taxpayers on the hook for lack of foresight?

By Lethbridge Herald on December 9, 2022.

LH EDITORIAL BOARD

The public has spoken loudly and clearly – the approved property tax increase over the next four years in Lethbridge is unacceptable to them.

From all directions and walks of life, we are hearing loudly and clearly from readers how utterly disappointed and angry they are that Lethbridge city council has approved a budget which will in total result in property tax increases of more than 20 per cent over the next four years.

We covered budget deliberations from start to finish, more thoroughly we believe than any other media outlet in Lethbridge. We examined the reasons behind big-ticket increases for police, the land-use bylaw rewrite and the impact of inflation on City services.

A lot of issues come to play in drafting a budget and we applaud city council and administration for the time and effort they put in to craft one during these difficult economic times.

However, we can still question the process as so many in our community are. Perhaps if previous councils had not put on hold property tax increases for three years we would not be facing such an enormous annual jump.

While our civic leadership may have been acting in what they thought was the best interests of residents, maybe they were wrong. Certainly the pandemic hit hard but it should have been obvious that by failing to increase property taxes even minimally during those three years of zero increases, the piper would have to be paid eventually. And thanks in part to those zero increases, the piper is going to be paid a king’s ransom for the next four years.

Inflation and higher costs for fuel, insurance and utilities – the latter two which would have been avoidable if the UCP government had instituted or not dropped rate caps – are affecting us all.

We completely understand the higher cost of taxation due to the police budget which should never have been cut by previous council, the result of which will impact our city negatively until recruits can be hired and trained and are ready to serve.

Will the city ever recover from the impact of that cut? 

Only time will tell but we do know that taxpayers are now on the hook for that lack of vision by the previous council. 

The police are a vital service that this community needs fully staffed – regardless of what some in the community may feel about past transgressions by a minority of LPS members that unfairly smeared the reputation of the entire force.

Can the tax situation be fixed? Yes, it can. By city council revisiting the budget and re-examining how many initiatives it approved that are still wants and not actual needs.

How many City job hirings are necessary right now? 

And what about all the money that is being given to fee-for-service groups? While everyone deserves a living wage, how much of the budget that goes to these groups is actually vital for their continued operation?

Taxpayers have told us they are livid about the upcoming tax increases and all members of council need – if they want to be re-elected by a fickle public – to make a concerted effort to revisit their decisions and see if some fat can possibly be trimmed from this expensive piece of prime rib.

The public is angry. And they may have reason to be.