A city divided?

Posted by Magda
South-end residents have long said they pay the most in taxes and get the least services in exchange.

At council yesterday, staff said the tax rate is the same across the city.

But Councillor Karl Wettstein argued that homes in the south end are worth more than homes elsewhere in the city. So while all residents pay the same percentage in taxes, the south end contributes more to the pot, he said.

"Whether you like it or not, taxes on homes in some parts of the city are higher than in others," Wettstein said. "That has divided the city. And, the part with higher taxes has no services."

This surprised me. All areas of the city should have services -- I think most people agree with that. But I'm not sure the level of tax paid should impact that in any way.

Comments

[Edward Pickersgill]

Taxes and tax rates, percentages and totals in real dollars will likely always be an issue for discussion and debate. Interestingly this week's Mercury poll relates to the need or lack of need for more affordable housing in the city... Perhaps I can mention that all non-profit housing groups in Guelph (rentals and co-op units) pay full property taxes.

September 28th we at Matrix delivered $80,348.49 (by cheque) to the City to cover the third (or was it the fourth) 2007 payment covering property taxes on our four main sites in town (164 apartments and town houses). If the tax argument gets any warmer perhaps more attention should go to the benefit of having well designed, well built, well managed non-profit housing in the city.

If Karl wants to talk taxes and interests he might factor our 3 or 4 times $80,000.00 and add in the property taxes from all the other non-profit housing groups and... well it'd be interesting to see "and what?" discussed.

[Leanne Piper]

What services are south end residents not getting - garbage pick up, library service, sanitary sewers? A pool and indoor rinks are just a tiny fraction of what our taxes cover.

A home assessed at 250K in the south end pays the same taxes as a 250K home in the downtown.

Most wards in the city have a mix of high, medium and low density housing stock. Ward 6 has more low density housing, so technically Councillor Wettstein is correct that Ward 6 residents pay more taxes. However, low density development is also more expensive to service.

It's easy to use the numbers to justify any position. You could use the counter argument that downtown generates the highest taxes per hectare.

I'm worried that using the argument that Ward 6 pays the highest taxes is contributing to the Great Divide more than anything else. We are all in this together. It's not a matter of if the South End will get a Community Centre, it's simply a matter of when.

[Leanne Piper]

Several councillors who attended the FCM conference in Calgary this summer visited a new community centre (and adjacent ambulance/police/fire station) in a growing area of the city. We heard that it takes a critical mass of people to make a new facility work financially. In Calgary, a neighbourhood gets a facility when the catchment area reaches 25,000 people. I'm not suggesting that the South End has to reach that, but it's important to realize that the opening of a South End centre could mean the closure of programs and facilities elsewhere if it is built too soon.

The Feasibility Study will give us that information, which is why I supported moving ahead with the study.

[Marilyn Shapka]

Leanne is absolutely correct, and she could add bus service, snow ploughing, and emergency response services to the list of amenities in the south end. It appears to me to be political expediency for ward 6 councillors to advocate moving planned facilities forward in the budget. This should never happen at the expense of the rest of the city and present services. That's why we do feasibility studies - to justify the needs. The city installed Larry Pearson Park in the south end and each area has its neighbourhood park enshrined in our planning process (5% park dedication). Newer areas of most cities have to wait for the "soft services". With our lower rate of Development Charges, that especially applies to Guelph.

[Magda]

Are our development charges lower than in other cities?

[Marilyn Shapka]

My understanding is that our development charges are among the lowest. The Finance Department at City Hall should have a comparison chart showing where Guelph stands in relation to other cities of similar size.

[Tim Gregory]

If I purchase a Hummer I pay more gas taxes than if I drive a compact;

If I am wealthy I pay more income taxes than if I get by on minimum wage;

If I live in an estate I pay more taxes than if I live in a town home;

I fail to see the issue here - if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.

If being wealthy is such a problem then give your money away to a needy cause – but for god’s sake PLEASE stop complaining about how bad it is to own nice things.

And by the way:

- if you flush the toilet and your gilded poops disappear
- if you place your garbage at the side of the road and it disappears
- if you call 911 and people in uniform appear
- if you have to wait for the bus to go by before pulling out of your driveway
- if you can drive down paved roads, cleared of snow to go shopping
- if you have a job in because of economic development

then YOU have the same services as EVERYONE ELSE in the City of Guelph!