On Monday April 20, City Council will decide the future tax rate increases to our budgets for 2016 through 2018. The tax rate we choose will determine the extent and pace for introducing new city programs and services, and will guide potential changes in our current operations.
Right now the city invests an annual 1% tax increase for future road repairs and other important capital projects. If the cost of providing city programs and services rises by inflation (approx. 2% per year) and we want to maintain the 1% for future infrastructure projects, we would be looking at an annual tax increase of 3 – 3.5%. That 3 – 3.5% doesn’t include if we want to invest in new programs and services.
During the election I heard from countless seniors, families and small business owners who felt squeezed financially – that their incomes and pensions weren’t keeping pace with tax rate increases. As a city it’s critical that we live within our means while keeping our community affordable. But I want to hear from you on how we can find the right balance between investing in our programs and services and keeping taxes low.
To get the tax rate lower, we need to look at how we deliver our programs and services, explore new revenue streams, and be open to how we can reduce our costs to save money. The question is, like in any household budget, how do we get there?
[polldaddy poll=8790446]
One Response
There was mention of cutting programs and services but no mention of cutting salaries like those on the sunshine list. If those struggling and just getting by have to pay more and those of us who are living comfortably are willing to pay more to keep our city’s great services and continue growing, why can’t those making more than enough to be comfortable help too? The economy isn’t great and more and more retail jobs are being lost. How are low income people going to pick themselves back up if their costs keep going up?
Thank you for including us with this poll and for reading
Sincerely