Three Okanagan cities get black marks in a new report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses. 
The group's study shows many B-C municipalities have greatly outspent their ability to pay the bills--in terms of local growth and additional taxpayers. The report states, "Municipal operating spending in BC continues to increase at an unsustainably high rate. This overspending comes at the expense of families, small businesses and other commercial ratepayers through property tax increases, user fee hikes, and higher transfer payments from senior levels of government."
Looking at the years 2000 to 2007, Vernon (8th) and Penticton (5th) are on the Federation's top-ten list of offenders, while Kelowna is number-14. The report says while Vernon's population and inflation grew by 27 percent between 2000 and 2007, the operating spending growth soared by 60 percent over the same period. It concludes the city had $7.1 million dollars in excess spending in 2007. Another example in the report, released today, shows Kelowna had excess spending of 28-million dollars in 2007, compared to what it it could actually cover with population growth and rising inflation.
Click HERE to read the full report.
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Excerpts below: Municipalities' spending outpacing real growth
By John Bermingham, The Province; with a file by Jack Keating
While taxpayers feel the pinch, B.C.'s free-spending municipalities have been expanding their belts. A report to be published today by the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses shows that between 2000 and 2007, operating spending rose nearly 44 per cent at B.C. municipalities, while inflation and population growth increased by only 25 per cent. Fully 129 of B.C.'s 153 municipal governments increased their operational spending at rates that exceeded what would be needed to keep up with inflation and population growth, says the report. "That kind of spending is disrespectful to taxpayers," CFIB vice-president Laura Jones said Wednesday. "And it's really out of touch in this economic climate." The report found that Prince George's spending rose at 2.89 times the rate of inflation, the worst among large cities of over 25,000. Twelve of B.C.'s largest municipalities spent at a rate more than double what could be justified by their growth in population and inflation.
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The report calls on B.C. to follow the lead of Ontario and Alberta, and hire a municipal auditor-general for B.C. to make local governments more accountable. A whopping 85 per cent of small businesses want regular audits of public spending by civic authorities. They also want municipal spending capped to hikes no greater than population and inflation growth. Some 55 per cent blame property tax as the most harmful tax to their businesses. But that's not stopping the City of Vancouver, which next year is looking at raising property taxes 4.8 per cent, and another five per cent in 2011, just to cover its pay increases. "The No. 1 thing they need to do is keep municipal wages in line with the private sector," said Jones, adding government workers receive 35 per cent more in wages and benefits from similar workers in the private sector.
Two-thirds of businesses said local governments should focus on core services, and not provide services outside their jurisdiction. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation agreed with the report's findings. "This very clearly shows that the provincial government must step in and cap property-tax rates," said Maureen Bader, the group's B.C. director."Spending is out of control. And the only way to bring it under control is to stop municipalities from just raising property taxes at will." (Full Story)
2 comments:
Wow, this while the watchdog and the lap dog have been on duty?
To quote the Joker, "this town needs an enema."
This report is to end of 2007 only.
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