It’s not perfect, but it’s tough to vehemently argue with the 2.8 per cent property tax hike city council approved Monday night. Keeping the increase in line with the cost of living is certainly laudable. However, the 9.5 per cent increase in utilities that’s contained in St. Albert’s 2012 budget is a jump that will undoubtedly irritate many residents.
No budget will ever satisfy everyone and that’s a given that Mayor Nolan Crouse and councillors have to accept. Chances are there will be negative letters to the editor over the next couple of weeks because that’s how people are — when they’re happy, they’re quiet and when they’re upset or angry they let the world know.
During the final budget debate Monday evening council made two positive moves — one that indicates that perhaps the city is not so business-unfriendly and another that was simply the smart thing to do.
The business signal went out when council approved a bylaw that will allow a broader range of businesses to locate in Campbell Business Park North, which should attract more businesses to the area. It is a progressive step that shows the city is, contrary to some recent decisions, receptive to new businesses.
The smart move was the decision to not spent $534,000 on a functional alignment study to look at taking a proposed LRT from the south side of the city to the north. That should be a no-brainer, at least until Edmonton decides to extend its LRT to the edge of St. Albert.
And even then, taking it through the city to the north end is just dreaming. The LRT issue has been on Coun. Len Bracko’s wish list for a long time, but the project is decades away and it is simply not a priority. That he got two other councillors — Wes Broadhead and Roger Lemieux — to support him is worrisome.
On the not-so-positive side, council still isn’t tough enough when it comes to money decisions involving special interest groups. Yes, there are plenty of non-profit groups that help out people and they deserve the finances. But there’s many other groups – some of them may be little more than a handful of friends — who are annually at council’s feet asking for money or to have the city provide them with free rental space.
It’s tough for municipal councils to say no to these groups because many of the people involved can be friends or acquaintances. But the reality is that councillors are elected to make decisions for the betterment of all city residents, not just a select few. And taxpayers need to know that the people they elected to council will make decisions based on getting value for the dollar and not on personal friendships.
Council will likely also hear from taxpayers about the decisions to resurrect that silly whistle cessation program and to fund the group that wants to keep alive remnants of the 150th anniversary celebrations. The year is over. It’s time to move on.
Hmmm, does that sound like the Grinch? And just days before Christmas, too. Well, it’s not a bah humbug budget — it is one that St. Albert residents can live with.
