Well done to the mayor and council of the City of St Albert. In 2010 we were second only to Grande Prairie for residential tax rates and utility fees and you are continuing to strive to be No. 1.
Last week it was announced the tax rate for next year was increasing by 2.8 per cent but that is not the truth. So much for open and transparent governance! If you add the Supplemental Capital Contribution (read tax) attached to our utility bills the average increase is higher than eight per cent.
Attempting to pay for the services expected of a city by only collecting residential tax is a losing battle even as the population increases. For every dollar of residential tax collected there are $1.86 of services required, commercial tax requires $0.70 of services, while the industrial tax dollar only requires $0.10 of services.
The only way to lower residential taxes is to attract industry but unfortunately St. Albert with all its restrictions continues to drive them away. The city aimed to get the tax ratio to 80 per cent residential and 20 per cent commercial/industrial and missed even that mark. We pay 22 per cent higher taxes and fees than Spruce Grove.
St. Albert City Council is attempting to ensure only the extremely wealthy can afford to live in this city.
Peter Wooldridge, St. Albert
