A municipal property tax increase of 3.6 per cent proposed by administration as budget meetings begin might seem like a good starting point, but subsequent questions about the need for future spending raises the question if the City of St. Albert as a whole is no longer sustainable.
There is no doubt, regardless of city manager Bill Holtby’s assurance that staff have shelved most proposals for new spending, that council will still try to whittle that number down to a lower value. As well, the prospect looms that Coun. Len Bracko will introduce a motion to cap future tax increases at 1.5 per cent. Yet somewhat overlooked is that depriving the city of income now could lead to more egregious property tax increases in the future.
It is a difficult balance to achieve — high property taxes and utilities are residents’ number-one concern. But secondary to that are city services, which rate consistently high in every annual survey. If this truly is a stripped down, bare-bones budget that council is determined to cut further, what will suffer? And are residents willing to stomach the subsequent loss?
With inflation below one per cent it’s understandable that every taxpayer would embrace a near zero per cent tax increase, however the city needs to only look north to see what kind of effect taking aggressive action on property tax increases has on municipalities. Up until 2004, Morinville went nine years without raising taxes. Fast forward to 2008 and the town no longer had the requisite cash on hand to tackle services as related to the present day and future growth. The end result was a proposed budget increase of 16.5 per cent for that year that was trimmed to a still unseemly 9.5 per cent.
Mayor Nolan Crouse is on record stating there is no “silver bullet” that can clean up the city’s finances and appease taxpayers. It’s going to be a matter of nickel and diming — thoughts Crouse put forward included delaying sidewalk or road repairs. And everyone is familiar with his idea of someday pushing garbage collection back to every other week, even as the city tacks on a 9.5 per cent increase in utilities, as well as another $5.77 to cover organic waste pickup.
Infrastructure deficits have fallen off the radar in recent years, but how many residents are willing to watch their sidewalks crumble, potholes go unfilled and water pipes become infested with tree roots? And if we start shaving small amounts here and there, how will we as a city accommodate future growth, especially the much-coveted commercial tax revenue that will help ease the homeowners’ burden?
To paraphrase Crouse, we are getting what we have paid for, so has the desire for excellent services become overshadowed by how many extra dollars are tacked onto a property tax bill every year? If minimal tax increases are now the goal, how will St. Albert grow? And will the result be similar to Morinville’s, where a few years of tax breaks or low increases for the sake of low increases create an untenable situation with larger, potentially double-digit increases in the future?
This budget represents a watershed moment for this new council, and the city as a whole. Many councillors staked their claims on keeping taxes low and voters responded. Reality, as is the case in many elections, might be more sobering than expected. It appears we can pay more to maintain what we have with some enhancements or pay less and watch it start to crumble around us. Neither option is acceptable but there appear to be few other options. We are getting, after all, what we paid for.
