This council has made some positive progress. We applaud that the city is active in program review and hope it proceeds with urgency, establishing clear timelines, objectives and outcomes. We also support the progress that has been made towards the establishment of a municipal auditor general to objectively review the city’s finances.
However, the City of St. John’s does not seem to appreciate that residents and businesses can’t afford an additional tax burden. To provide some perspective, approximately 38,000 households pay $91 million in municipal taxes and 1,300 businesses pay $71 million. In addition, business pays the vast majority of fees such as development and permit fees. Business is doing more than its fair share.
We are already one of the highest taxed jurisdictions in the country. Businesses are also concerned about possible new taxation from the pending carbon tax as well as increasing power rates.
While businesses in St. John’s are dealing with high taxation and costs of doing business, other jurisdictions are seeing tax cuts (Ontario, the United States) which will allow for more business-friendly environments. In order for St. John’s to be internationally competitive we must maintain our current level of taxation and even begin cutting taxes.
Efficiencies before tax increases
If the city is indeed as efficient as they can be, and every opportunity has been explored to reduce costs without reducing service levels, the time may have come to reduce service levels. It sounds like we simply can’t afford what we have.
Perhaps we should collect garbage every second week. Perhaps we need to introduce street lighting adaptation strategies. We should be considering a variety of different measures to reduce street lighting including part-night lighting, dimming, and, replacing lamps with energy efficient white lights. A program started in Cambridgeshire in the U.K. involved switching off street lights in selected areas between midnight and 6 a.m.; the program is reported to reduce energy usage by 46 per cent, which will amount to approximately £1.1 million saved overall. Good for the environment, good for our energy bills and good for taxpayers. This may not be something that makes sense for us but perhaps we should dim the lights overnight.
Perhaps instead of taking on the sole burden of building a new recreation center to replace the Mews Centre, alternative options can be explored like partnerships with existing facilities such as the Y or the Aquarena or partnerships with other municipalities to build a multi-purpose recreational facility in a central location. We should not be building what we can’t afford.
Perhaps we need to transition toward having municipal property assessments performed by the province’s Municipal Assessments Agency (MAA) for cost savings. St. John’s is the only municipality that handles its own assessments. All other municipalities that have a taxation system have their assessments completed by the MAA.
Reducing the size of city hall should also be considered. For example, the number of councilors is also an option to be reviewed. Tone starts at the top. It is good to see the current council reviewing their structure. To complement the auditor general, the City of St. John’s should also establish a hotline similar to the Halifax Regional Municipality’s (HRM) TIPS line. The Taking Improvement & Performance Seriously (TIPS) Hotline has been established to capture and evaluate concerns or complaints related to potential inefficiencies (waste) or fraud (illegal/irregular behaviour) involving HRM resources. This line allows citizens, business, and municipal staff to report potential inefficiencies or irregularities anonymously to the auditor general’s office.
Make St. John’s the go-to place to do business
Ultimately, the solution is to grow the tax base with new businesses and new residents. To achieve this, we need to be business friendly in order to overcome our natural disadvantages of being a remote location in a harsh climate.
We call upon Council to examine the building permit process and report on its level of efficiency. Business leaders must be consulted during this review and be given an opportunity to provide feedback.
We continue to advocate for the elimination of development fees, which are discouraging new construction. Development has decreased since the inception of these fees.
We need to attract businesses and residents to our city and increasing taxes is counter-intuitive. The first questions businesses ask when looking for a place to locate are how much are the taxes and how efficient is the regulatory process. Both have room for improvement.
We need to work smarter, more collaboratively, and to sharpen our pencils a little bit more. Get engaged in the public consultation on the city’s budget, as our future depends on it.
Andrea Stack is chair of the St. John’s Board of Trade.
