Rob Ford will raise taxes next year
Ford opens door on 3% tax hike | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun
After promising to not raise taxes or cut services, and, after finding that there is/was no waste at City Hall, and, after squandering over $533 million, Rob Ford is eyeing raising taxes next year by 3% WHILE still cutting services. A good mayor/manager of city funds would usually leave services intact BY raising taxes. David Miller left the city with a large surplus which Ford immediately squandered. Then Ford went on to waste over $533 million. Now he is trying to blame Miller for his own financial mismanagement. Will he ever own up to his own mistakes? I don't think so.
Ford's administration is all about blaming the previous administration and about tearing down anything put in place by the Miller administration whether it makes sense to do so or not (and so far, none of what he is doing is making any sense).
Making most decisions to spite the previous mayor is not good management. Making decisions based on benefit to the city and it's diverse population is good management. Mayors have found that, especially since amalgamation (which KPMG said would save money, but it didn't really) and the downloading by the Harris government, the city has had a funding problem. The population is steadily increasing, so the infrastructure and services to support these people are steadily increasing. Mayors of Toronto have found that you can't really get by without a small tax increase every year. When mayors have decided to not increase taxes one year, they have had to increase it all the more the next year. Miller planned on a 3% tax increase per year and that was the average increase while he was mayor. Ford actually decreased taxes his first year, so he will probably find he will have to raise taxes more than 3% next year (or bring in user fees and cut services). Cutting services and laying off city staff is not sound management when your population is ever-growing, and thus, requires more services, which means more labour and more staff needed to do the increasing amount of work.
I predict the taxes will go up by much more than 3% next year in order for Ford to make up for decreasing them and for his wasting money this year. We're in for a bumpy ride, no doubt about it.
After promising to not raise taxes or cut services, and, after finding that there is/was no waste at City Hall, and, after squandering over $533 million, Rob Ford is eyeing raising taxes next year by 3% WHILE still cutting services. A good mayor/manager of city funds would usually leave services intact BY raising taxes. David Miller left the city with a large surplus which Ford immediately squandered. Then Ford went on to waste over $533 million. Now he is trying to blame Miller for his own financial mismanagement. Will he ever own up to his own mistakes? I don't think so.
Ford's administration is all about blaming the previous administration and about tearing down anything put in place by the Miller administration whether it makes sense to do so or not (and so far, none of what he is doing is making any sense).
Making most decisions to spite the previous mayor is not good management. Making decisions based on benefit to the city and it's diverse population is good management. Mayors have found that, especially since amalgamation (which KPMG said would save money, but it didn't really) and the downloading by the Harris government, the city has had a funding problem. The population is steadily increasing, so the infrastructure and services to support these people are steadily increasing. Mayors of Toronto have found that you can't really get by without a small tax increase every year. When mayors have decided to not increase taxes one year, they have had to increase it all the more the next year. Miller planned on a 3% tax increase per year and that was the average increase while he was mayor. Ford actually decreased taxes his first year, so he will probably find he will have to raise taxes more than 3% next year (or bring in user fees and cut services). Cutting services and laying off city staff is not sound management when your population is ever-growing, and thus, requires more services, which means more labour and more staff needed to do the increasing amount of work.
I predict the taxes will go up by much more than 3% next year in order for Ford to make up for decreasing them and for his wasting money this year. We're in for a bumpy ride, no doubt about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment