As this byelection of 2015 grinds along, I share David Robinson’s frustration that the soap opera surrounding the candidates and their parties has taken the issues confronting this riding and Northern Ontario off the table.
Maybe it is human nature, maybe the electorate prefers to focus on the skullduggery that has taken over our local political scene.
Or maybe the antics of local politicians and their parties just plays into the overall perception of a body politic that is broken.
Whatever the reason, each and every one of us are the losers. There are many challenges and opportunities facing our city and Northern Ontario; today, I would like to focus on one.
This city is facing a revenue crisis, yet not one candidate or party has spoken to it. It is a fact that we face a $700 million physical infrastructure deficit.
The amount of municipal taxes paid to the city by the mining companies has been reduced from 25 per cent of the tax base 20 years ago to 6.5 per cent today. They have achieved this by reducing the number of surface buildings that can be taxed. This is good business for them — it is bad news for taxpayers.
Exacerbating this situation is our council’s commitment to freeze property taxes and user fees for 2015. While a popular political move, it will cause further stress on an already dire fiscal situation.
This decision, combined with the fact that the province will reduce the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund, (OMPF) transfer payments to the city this year by $3.8 million, and the fact that negotiated collective agreements with city workers will increase costs, sets the stage for a perfect storm, soon to hit.
So what is the city to do, and how is it relevant to the provincial byelection campaign?
Well, the city on its own does not have many levers to pull. There is no magic bullet that is going to dramatically increase revenues this fiscal year. They have already dipped into the reserve fund cookie jar for $700,000 and postponed essential repairs to our sewer and water system.
The province, on the other hand, does have the levers at its disposal to help. They could enact changes to the Mining Act, broadening all mining host municipalities’ ability to tax mining operations, or they could decide to share the royalties they receive from mining operations, with host municipalities.
Given current market conditions, increasing the tax burden on mining companies may well cause collateral damage. The option of resource revenue sharing between the province and the municipality deserve a fulsome discussion and debate.
There are still a couple of weeks left in this campaign, I implore the candidates to move from the games to the real issues facing our community.
John Caruso
Subdury