Here’s Your Chance To Talk Taxes With Niagara’s Regional Government

A Note from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

I’ve often said that if I had a dollar for every time I heard someone complaining about their property taxes on the Ontario side of our greater Niagara region, I’d be able to cover the cost of my tax bills for the rest of my life.

We do a lot of complaining, alright, about annual hike in our property taxes and about all of the things we think our councillors are wasting our money on, but here is what gets me as a veteran reporter of municipal budgets in Niagara. Come time for our regional councillors to debate the annual budget, hardly anyone from the public bothers to show up at the meetings, let alone get on any list of speakers to speak out on behalf of themselves and their fellow citizens.

Members of the Niagara Regional Police Board are usually there to defend their often way-out-of-whack-with-our-ability-to-pay budget hikes. There are also the department heads of departments and the odd representative of one of the unions representing workers at the regional government who attend the budget meetings and who sometimes offer the council a few words around their interests. But you rarely saw any more than two or three members of the general public attending for the purposes of saying a few words on behalf of that common taxpayer. That has been so even though about half of every dollar you pay out of your property taxes go to regional services. The rest goes to your local municipalities and to education.

It’s not like Niagara’s regional government has gone out of its way to discourage ordinary citizens from participating in its budget process. In recent years, it has tried harder to engage the interest of ordinary citizens and this year it is doing it with what it is calling pre-budget consultation sessions this coming October 26 and November 2 in halls in the municipalities of Lincoln and Fort Erie for residents across the northern and southern tiers of the region.

You can let Niagara Regional Chair Gary Burroughs, who will be hosting this meeting along with other regional representatives, that you are concerned about how your property tax dollars are spent by showing up at these meetings and offering your input. Or practically no one will show up at these meetings which may send our municipal leaders another message that is probably not so good in terms of our level of interest in how our taxdollars are spent.

What follows is the media release for these budget consultation meetings, circulated this October 21 by Niagara’s regional government.

 Understanding Regional services and what they cost:
2012 pre-budget consultation

NIAGARA REGION, Oct.21, 2011 – In an ongoing effort to increase public awareness of Regional programs and services and the Regional budget process, pre-budget consultation sessions will be held on Oct. 26, 2011 at Lincoln Town Hall and on Nov. 2, 2011 at Fort Erie Town Hall. These sessions will also be webcast live at www.niagararegion.ca, giving residents an opportunity to participate online.

In addition, a water, wastewater and waste management information open house will be held Oct. 24, 2011 at Regional Headquarters in Thorold.
The budget sessions will be hosted by Regional Chair Gary Burroughs; Regional Councillor Dave Augustyn, Chair of the Budget Review Committee of the Whole; and Mike Trojan, Chief Administrative Officer. Brian Hutchings, Commissioner of Corporate Services and Treasurer for Niagara Region, will brief residents on the 2012 budget and the programs and services that are funded by that budget. Residents will have the opportunity to give input and feedback directly to Councillors and Regional staff who are there to listen and answer questions.
Residents are invited to make a short five to 10 minute presentation, at the budget consultation sessions based on information available on the Region’s website, and in response to the following questions:

1) What are the top five funding priorities you feel that Regional Council should address in the 2012 budget?
2) How would you direct those funds?

To register as a delegation, visit the Region’s website at www.niagararegion.ca .
Questions will also be taken online at www.niagararegion.ca or through Facebook (www.facebook.com/niagararegion) and twitter (www.twitter.com/niagararegion). Both sessions will be broadcast live on the Region’s website, allowing residents to participate even if they can’t make it out in person to the meeting.
“About 49 per cent of residents’ property taxes are going to fund programs and
services delivered by Niagara Region. What does that mean for Niagara residents? In 2012, on an average home valued at $220,000, residents would pay around $1,534, which is a significant amount of money,” said Regional Chair Gary Burroughs. “That’s why taxpayer affordability is Council’s number one priority. At the same time we need to be fiscally responsible by ensuring we maintain a sustainable budget that will meet the needs of today, without compromising our future needs.”
-more-Join the conversation and interact with the Niagara Region in real time on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube MR2011-CFS-134
”These forums are opportunities for residents to learn about the services we provide
and their value,” said Regional Councillor Dave Augustyn, Chair of the Budget Review
Committee of the Whole. “We want to hear from residents about Council’s priorities and the 2012 budget, so we’re providing less formal opportunities for residents to hear about, comment on and ask questions about our next budget. Residents can still participate at regularly scheduled budget Council meetings taking place in November and we hope to have strong participation at these meetings,” concludes Augustyn.

A report summarizing the public feedback will be prepared for Committee and Regional Council.

(We encourage our Niagara At Large readers to share your views on this post below.)