Mayor warns capital may be forced to cut services or raise taxes DAVE STEWART The Guardian
Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee said the city is losing $1 million in operational dollars this year, which will force the municipality to either eliminate services or raise taxes in its March budget.
Lee was the keynote speaker at the Charlottetown Rotary Club’s weekly luncheon Monday and he painted a grim picture of relations between the city government and the province.
Lee said the city has been trying to forge a strong relationship with the Robert Ghiz government since the Liberals took office almost two years ago.
“To date we have not been as successful as we should have been,” Lee said.
“We have not built a solid close working relationship. We have not communicated well with each other.
“In my opinion, it is a matter of respect and I don’t believe, and my colleagues in the capital area region don’t believe, that local government is being shown the respect it deserves.’’
Lee said last year’s provincial budget changes revenue coming to municipalities from property taxes, from a tax credit system to a grant system.
With that in mind, the communities of Cornwall, Stratford and Charlottetown hired an accounting firm to analyze the change and its implications.
Those findings will be released at a news conference today in Charlottetown.
Lee and his counterparts, Stratford Mayor Kevin Jenkins and Cornwall Mayor Patrick MacFadyen, requested a meeting with Ghiz, Treasurer Wes Sheridan and Communities and Cultural Affairs Minister Carolyn Bertram to discuss those implications.
“The premier responded by refusing us the meeting and telling us to talk to a commissioner on municipal governance,’’ Lee said, adding that the commissioner is not expected to submit his report to the province until late this year or well into 2010.
“I can tell you that it is very frustrating when you are passed over by the premier or when cabinet ministers refuse to engage in dialogue on such an important issue.’’
For years, municipal politicians have been arguing that the province shouldn’t be collecting residential property tax in Charlottetown, keeping 34 cents of every dollar (a cost to the city of up to $6 million annually) but not providing any of the essential services.
In addition, Lee said the province has eliminated the Charlottetown Area Urban Services Supplementary Agreement, which provided $1 million to the city annually for operational expenses.
The city was getting that money because the province agreed that, after amalgamation in 1995, the capital area was underfunded to the tune of $1 million.
Lee added that the city was not receiving $140,000 in property taxes for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, was short $400,000 because of the high cost of street maintenance and was not getting $460,000 for streets that were not included in the original formula.
The Charlottetown mayor said the province has since agreed to provide the $140,000 in lieu of taxes for the QEH but that still leaves the city government short $860,000 annually.
Lee also took issue with government’s decision last year to eliminate two provincial government departments located in the city.
“I am not opposed to decentralization, however, I am strongly opposed to robbing one community to give another for no other reason than political opportunism.’’
Lee said attention now turns to the municipal budget in March and how the city will access infrastructure dollars announced by the federal government last week.
Those programs require that the municipal and provincial governments share the cost.
Lee said that might mean putting the city’s capital debt reduction strategy — not to spend more capital dollars than what the city is retiring in that fiscal year — on hold for the next two years.
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Tapped out from PE writes: Pretty easy decision. Cut services, don't raise taxes. No one can handle a larger tax bill these days. That would just force more people to move outside Ch'town and make the matter (not enough money) even worse.
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where shall we start? from PEI writes: OK, where shall we start? Blackberries for the city council maybe. We can move on to using enough road salt to keep everyone in margheritas for life. There are the money sinks called subsidies for rock concerts. We can get property owners to shovel sidewalks - maybe they'll be kept clean then. And then of course, there's the bus, running around virtually empty. Maybe we can tap into some of the fees UPEI students are forced to pay.
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PFA from Charlottetown, PE writes: The city, IMO, should be providing essential services only. Infrastructure maintenance, policing, etc. Everything else should, and could, be handled by private citizens. Trying to be everything to everyone is forcing people out of the city. Property taxes are the worst part of living in Charlottetown.
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Marnie M from charlottetown, pei writes: It seems that we will and should not raise taxes on our City property owners. I for one am pretty much to the breaking point right now. As for this big infra structure program in the Harper budget. We cannot afford the 33 per cent here in the City, so please Mr. Mayor take a pass on this program and keep our taxes where they are. I think raising taxes would be totally wrong and hurtful of people who will not be seeing any direct benefit from the Harper budget. I know our tax savings is going to be peanuts!
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Red Nex from PE writes: where shall we start?...what are you saying?
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james Mcgoo from Lakeside, PEI writes: Why don't the people of Charlottetown demand their mayor detail a budget that highlights what he would cut from the budget to balance it and why. The presentation could also include details why the mayor believes the Ghiz government should provide funds not currently being provided. Its the city of Charlottetowns budget, not Ghiz's. He doesn't care. Move forward. Worry about Charlotttown, not everyone else. You were elected to represent Charlottetown.
It is the responsibility of the mayor to lead and make difficult decisions. General comments and half specific references without providing the citizens the ability to understand the logic and rationale used to balance the budget are not making things happen to correct the problems.
It seems the strategy is wait until it is too late for people to take the proper time to react to budget issues. Then no one knows what could be done or who to hold accountable.
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john from pei writes: There we go again the blame game. When is this Mayor going to get with the program . When you do up a budget ,you put in what you know what you are going to have not what you though or wish you had to work with when you do your budget up. Too often they have tried to advoid dealing with the situation at hand and that is that they must seriously deal with the cost of running the City. It is quite apparent ,that the unions are running City.This council like others, must seriously at the cost of doing business with unions. I ,as a taxpayer ,have seen many examples , of waste and pure lack of reasoning as to why there are so many people who are suppose to working but are just laying around having a conversation or what ever when I as a taxpayer, am paying them to work . In the private sector this would not happen because there is what is known as a bottom line in business. In the private sector ,if you don't do the job the way that it is, then there is always sombody else to do the job right .We all know that in the real world that the private sector is far more reasonable in cost than in a union sector. I believe that in light if the fact that the police force is now being investigated and that the long awaited report is supposed to be here any day now, that prehaps this report will make note that this force , is the highest paid force I am sure in eastern Canada. The union will say oh no that is no true . But I hope that the report reflects this and that the council looks at other options such as having the RCMP take over the policing. So Mayor Lee get with the program this time !
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jan from pe writes: Hey Mayor,
Cut services. No more coblestone parking spaces, etc. Essential services and that is it. Balance your own books and stop blaming elsewhere. I am actually looking for property outside of the city, as I find the crew downtown a joke.
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