STRAIGHT TALK ON TAXES
Janice says:

I've had pensioners and fixed income earners call me about past tax hikes. With their other costs (heating, insurance, Hydro, etc) escalating too, they wonder how they are going to be able to afford to stay in their homes. If property taxes rise more and more, in order to pay for unnecessary new projects, others too will face this dilemma.

I believe Council needs to set responsible priorities: Take care of the basic infrastructure that we all rely on 24/7 to be in place to deliver potable water to our homes, to take away our sewage and not let it to back up into our basements when it rains, to be there to take us to our workplaces, schools, stores, the hospital, wherever we have to go …

We need to take care of the nuts and bolts before we consider unnecessary expenditures.

I have a vision. It is a vision of Niagara Falls remaining an affordable place in which to live and invest in the future.

I believe that Council needs take a common-sense approach to determining what is and is not affordable, and to first take care of the basic things that must be done. This is the only way to handle our looming financial burdens. If this is what you believe as well, then this is what you should be demanding of your representatives at City Hall.

I have been fighting for fiscal responsibility at City Council for years. I protested when Council departed, in the late 1990s, from its previous “pay as you go” policy. I have voted against budgets because I objected to incurring debt and allocating too much money to non-essential items and not enough for crucial items such as our sewers and our roads. For years, I have been pushing Council to spend more money on sewers, water lines and roads.

I am seeking your support to continue my fight for common-sense spending.

I want to continue to fight for maintenance of the basic infrastructure so crucial in the daily lives of us all. We need to use common sense and good fiscal sense.

Rising Hydro costs, rising fuel costs, rising wages, etc, mean taxes HAVE to go up every year if we are to maintain the same service levels. However, we need to put more money into road work so it doesn't cost us four to five times more later, separate our combined sewers, and repair leaky water mains.

In order to afford this, we need to revisit our spending on services of little value to the community. Some, such as our Fire Services and the Library, are too vital to cut. Others are less so, as the City’s 2005 Service Delivery Review revealed. The results of that survey, however, yet to be acted upon.

We need accountability and responsible spending. It is easy to spend on feel-good items which generate publicity in the short term, and delay the not-so-sexy basics. Later on, however, this will catch up with us – and it is the taxpayers who, in the future, will pay dearly for the neglect of today.

I want to continue working to bring fiscal responsibility to Council's spending and to ensure that Niagara Falls remains an affordable place to live and invest in the future. To do so, I need YOUR support!!

Sewers and Water Mains | Roads | Rural Infrastructure | Straight Talk on Taxes