Columnists
I hear a piper
Like a lot of people, the last thing I want to do is spend more money on things I don’t always use. Municipal budgets and the ensuing property tax increases feel a bit like that to me. But the reality is, I do use municipal services and I’d like a good return for my tax dollars. One way or the other, we all have to pay taxes for services we, often, can’t really see and, maybe, don’t always use. In the last few weeks a lot of angry, and thought-provoking, words have been tossed around about the new budget for our municipality. Honestly, I’m not surprised by the increase. To be a politician and to be a popular politician are one and the same. To get elected, politicians know what they have to say and they always say what we, the voters, want to hear. For decades, County voters have been treated to municipal politicians who have been serving us a healthy dose of bandaid surgery as regards our failing infrastructure. And our infrastructure is truly falling apart. No amount of stickum and glue will fix it. Our publicly owned buildings and assets are in danger of being sold to make ends meet and to keep property tax increases low. I don’t know much about municipal budgets except for the short time I worked as a municipal employee and watched, helplessly, as the budgets for museums, culture and heritage were slashed to pay for the basic fixes of our physical and organizational structures and facilities. In the late nineties and early 2000s, if you couldn’t flush it, drink it or drive on it, “it” was on the chopping block. Museums, culture and heritage were considered unnecessary frills by many people, including many of our elected officials. That whole pillar of our economy fought to prove it was an integral part of the healthy economic development of this community. But you can’t get to those places without decent roads. And you can’t support tourism development without adequate sanitary services.
So, what’s my point? Well, my point is this municipality has been limping along for many years. Every new council hopes to get through their term without having to deal with a major crisis. Every year the symptoms of our failing infrastructure have been treated, but the cause hasn’t been dealt with in a safe, acceptable manner. Filing potholes and patching sewage pipes is a lot like going to the dentist every six months but never flossing or brushing between visits. After a while, you just can’t do a quick fix. Major work needs to be done and, like dentistry, the failure of one system often affects other systems.
Mayor Ferguson is concerned about the attractiveness and charm of the community being forsaken for commercial profit. To a certain extent this has to happen. The population of the County has remained relatively stable for many years, currently sitting at about 25,000 people. With such a small tax base, the County can’t afford to just be pretty without being viable. Tourists will continue visit for all of the cozy reasons, but they still want to be fed, have a place to lay their heads, to be entertained and to shop. Financing infrastructure, plus replacing the hospital and McFarland Home and attending to our growing affordable housing crisis requires future planning and funding to repay the financing needed. Charging for services has to be adequate. Funding, through property taxes, should have been raised many, many years ago. Now we have to pay the piper. We all voted for low-tax increases for many, many years. Right now we have a huge infrastructure gap and right now we’ll all have to pay for what we wanted to hear in years gone by. I hear a piper and the piper needs to be paid.
Comments (0)