Editorial – Do Better

As an early Christmas present to taxpayers, many local municipal councils have begun – or in fact already completed – their 2025 budget process. A concerning trend that has not only crept into but completely taken over the budget process is high residential property tax rate increases.

The City of Cornwall has already accepted in-principle its budget and a 4.89 per cent tax increase, down from the 5.3 per cent starting point. SDG Counties also accepted in-principle a 4.89 per cent property tax increase, down from its 6.87 per cent starting point. Most of the cut came thanks to a provincial helping hand with OPP costs, shaving nearly two per cent off that planned tax increase. South Stormont’s December 11 budget meeting has a forecasted 7.1 per cent increase as its starting point. In South Dundas, council received its budget presentation on December 6 with a proposed 11.91 per cent rate increase.

Looking specifically at SDG Counties and South Dundas, nearly two-thirds of the former’s tax increase is attributed to outside costs such as Shared Services provided by the City of Cornwall, and the OPP policing contract. Only 1.67 per cent of the tax increase is attributed to costs controlled by counties officials. In comparison, all the proposed 11.91 per cent tax increase in South Dundas is entirely in the realm of control of its municipal officials. Baked into that increase, over six per cent increase in wages – both through hiring new staff, a three per cent wage increase, and implementing the results of a compensation review. The balance is for capital, which includes some public works, recreation, and purchasing new vehicles.

While other councils have chosen to make short work of their budget process, and echo conciliatory platitudes to residents facing these steep rate increases, little was said by council at the South Dundas meeting. No decisions on what the final budget is and what tax increase will hit residents will be made until at least the January 13, 2025 budget meeting.

During tough economic times, including during the recent pandemic, and the 2008 recession before that, many municipal councils tightened their belts. This was with the understanding that with the economy in flux, residents could not afford wide-scale tax increases. Not much has changed though for residents though in recent years – in fact it is getting worse. Unemployment is above seven per cent in November 2024, and while the national inflation rate has dropped to between two and three per cent, many have not recovered from the financial issues in the last few years and immediate needs like food and housing costs are still well above the national inflation rate. Now, municipalities far and wide are hitting homeowners with high single or even double digit tax increases. Many officials point fingers to “external forces” or blame wages, but there is a lack political will to make difficult decisions driving this raiding of taxpayer wallets. Asking for staff reports to create churn and kick decisions down the road is the opposite of leadership.

Political leaders need to reign in costs and do more with less, just as families who can ill-afford near or double-digit tax increases have to do. There is a cost to high tax increases, both to taxpayers, and at election time, to elected officials. Politicians need to do better.