St. Albert’s budget process reminds me of the old story The Emperor’s New Clothes. In that tale, a pair of crafty tailors sell the emperor some ‘magic clothes’ that can only be seen by ‘wise’ people. The clothes didn’t actually exist, but the emperor and all his subjects pretend to see the clothes anyway so that they do not look stupid. The story ends with the emperor walking naked through the streets, pretending to wear his ‘magic clothes’, as all his subjects praise him. Finally, one young boy points out the obvious – the emperor doesn’t have any clothes at all! Since then, the phrase “the emperor has no clothes” describes a situation where most people are afraid to criticize something even when it’s obvious that there’s a big problem.
St. Albert is in a similar situation. City administration is much like the tailors in the story, selling a budget with a 6.93 per cent increase in total spending and 22 new staff positions. All new city revenues raised in 2013, including a 5.1 per cent tax increase and a 6.5 per cent utility fees increase, will go to shore up this bloated spending.
Most of council are like the emperor and his subjects. They have bought into administration’s claims that the new clothes are well worth the cost, and they go along with it because they don’t want to seem unintelligent. Many members of the public remain silent because they’re afraid of being sanctioned, because they benefit or because they don’t think anything will ever change. So far, only one member of council (Cam MacKay) has played the role of the little boy, speaking over and over again about the need for fiscal responsibility and restraint in spending.
It’s too bad, because there’s a lot of evidence to back up what that councillor is saying. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business released a study that confirmed that municipal spending in Alberta is unsustainable, and recommended that tax increases should be limited to the rate of inflation, plus population growth.
The City of Edmonton’s 2010 study of comparative property taxes pointed out that St. Albert residents pay 55 per cent more property tax than residents of Edmonton for the same sample house, and more than all the mid-sized cities the survey sampled, including Grande Prairie. Airdrie, a Calgary bedroom community which has many similarities to St. Albert, has managed to maintain the third lowest taxes in Alberta.
Why do our councillors continue to believe that the emperor has any clothes on? Have they forgotten that St. Albert doesn’t have the same industrial tax base as Edmonton, which helps reduce the tax burden on Edmontonians? Have they forgotten that city spending has ballooned from $69.9 million in 2002 to a proposed $151.8 million, which makes for a 117 per cent increase over the last decade?
Don't they realize that, as a bedroom community of Edmonton, we should be spending less than standalone cities because of all the services and attractions Edmonton offers? Have they forgotten that utility fees have increased by more than 93.8 per cent since 2005, and along with the 6.5 per cent increase for 2013, results in overcharging residents by $8.1 million a year, the amount going into the utilities piggy bank?
Do they realize that 90 per cent of St. Albert residents do not benefit from the ‘nice to have’ expenditures of the lucky 10 per cent? Do they realize that many of the ‘plans’ they’re approving are just blueprints for more over-the-top spending? Do they realize that St. Albert’s population growth has slowed to less than 1 per cent a year, and that it probably has to do with the costs of living here? Do they realize that taxpayers cannot continue to bear this tax burden?
To me, it’s quite clear the emperor has no clothes, and hasn’t had any in quite a long time. How many other young children will recognize this, I wonder?
Lynda Flannery is a director with the St. Albert Taxpayers Association.
