It was inevitable. We rode the dream far longer than we had a right to and now we must pay the price. City taxes will likely rise 6.5 per cent this year. One percent of the increase is for the capital budget — replacing equipment.
But from 1991 until 2009, Moose Jaw residents faced only six tax increases totalling 13.08 per cent — including 2.77 per cent last year. In that same time frame, the Consumer Price Index rose 39 per cent.
From 2004 to 2009, Moose Jaw residents faced a total of 7.11 per cent in tax increases. In the same time period, Yorkton residents were tagged with 34.1 per cent in increases, Regina residents 10.75 and Saskatoon residents 22.71.
Moose Jaw residents enjoyed several years of no increase. And now we must pay for that.
Had we be paying a one per cent increase in each of those years, the capital budget would be in good shape and the city would have had some money to work with.
Instead, council catered to demands of some citizens that there be no increase. As a result, the cost of doing business went up, infrastructure was allowed to crumble and there was no investment in the city itself.
The cost of doing business (policing, firefighting, garbage collection, street paving, snow removal, etc.) has steadily gone up while council held the line the on taxes. Each year, something had to give to make it work.
This year, there was nothing left to give up and, with the province failing to come through with money it had earlier promised, council was forced to do the unthinkable and raise taxes a fair bit.
We could have avoided this situation if councils over the past 18 years had been willing to raise taxes slightly — even one per cent a year.
