It's Your Money. Keep Your Eyes on It

On May 30 pockets became lighter as municipal tax bills got paid. Valuable things happen with tax dollars. Some of those things we don't think about much, like sewer services. Other things we wish we had more of, like sidewalks.

Your community development association had their eyes on last year's tax bill. The result? Taxes for Centreville street lights were removed from your tax bill for this and subsequent years. The $20 charge paid by each household over several years was in excess of what was needed. When this cost returns in a few years time it will be less per year. A small thing, but significant, because it demonstrates the value of keeping eyes open when it comes to tax bills.

Each year I push to scrutinise every line of the county's budget. Why? I want to do a more thorough job of looking after your municipal tax dollar. In Kings County, department managers have to justify only changes from the previous year's budget. The assumption is that the “baseline” is automatically approved in advance of any examination by elected officials.

I've asked council to do a “zero-based” budget where every line item of the budget, not only the changes, must be approved. At a minimum this should be done at least once in each 4-year session of a council, in my opinion. The resistance by the top dogs in our council to opening up the entire budget to discussion has shocked me. Our experienced and talented finance staff could easily manage such a task if they were permitted. I believe more effective uses of taxes could be found in a number of areas and that program adjustments could be made to better serve us all. I could be proved wrong. If we could get to zero-based budgeting we'd all see if improvement is possible, or not.

Here are three key concerns my eyes are on.

1. For the past four years Kings County has been significantly below the average for rural municipalities on a liquidity score (average is 3.2 while Kings is 1.6).* Kings is also below the average when it comes to operational reserves (average is 47.8 percent while Kings is 16.7).**
2. A huge burden is being placed on Kings County taxpayers regarding capital reserves. We are paying four times the amount of the average rural municipality. Despite this the county hasn't been able to figure out how to catch up on needed sidewalks for many communities, including Centreville.
3. Our sewer rate per household has soared in the last 10-years (from $200 to $460). Local engineers and developers are questioning the reason given for these hikes and are calling for a review of our capital program. They ask why are we seeking to replace sewer lines they say have 50 plus additional years of useful life.

*Liquidity is defined by Municipal Affairs Finance Department as "a key short term financial performance score" where "low liquidity scores can indicate a cash flow problem, and may indicate concern in other areas such as revenue collection."

Here are three areas I think we can take pride in:

1. Relative to other municipalities a small but significant amount is returned in grants to community organizations. When this money is used in conjunction with volunteer hours we see each tax dollar magnified in ways that add valuable infrastructure to our communities.
2. The county continues to strengthen the tax shelter available to lower income home-owners. This helps keep home-ownership affordable for struggling seniors and others on small or fixed incomes.
3. Commercial and residential tax rates have not increased for several years.

A municipal election will be held on October 15. Either 8 or 9 councillors plus a Mayor will be responsible for the next budget. Will it be a zero-based budget? Will you ask this question of any Mayor candidate that knocks on your door? Among current councillors, Peter Muttart, District 2, is the only councillor who has declared as a candidate for Mayor. He can be contacted at 902.670.6429 if you have questions for him on this or any other matter. His campaign literature for councillor last October heralded skill and promise. His performance in chambers since his success in the byelection has been exemplary.

With brave new leadership we can ensure that no more than the right amount of money comes out of your pocket. It's been said taxes create civilised society by providing services communities as a whole need. I believe that. But taxes are only as good as the use they are put to and your attention to who controls the purse strings is greatly needed.