Delay Budget Until Councillors Replaced

During the April 15 public meeting in Nesbitt, I formally asked council to delay passage of the 2019 budget until new councillors are elected to replace Dennis Rome and Barry Fowell, who resigned in March.

The unexpected departures give Wawanesa council members a 3-2 voting edge over the remaining rural councillors and seriously undercut Oakland’s power to negotiate a fair budget.

Unfortunately, the 2019 draft budget introduced Monday continues a taxation imbalance that began with the 2015 Oakland-Wawanesa amalgamation: rural residents pay disproportionately more than village ratepayers for services that are shared by both groups.

Taxation by the Numbers

With 35% of the municipality’s population, Wawanesa is only paying 14% of the shared services cost. Oakland, with 65% of the population, is paying 86%.

Shared services are funded through the At-Large tax levy, which virtually quadrupled between 2015 and 2018 to nearly $1-million annually. As council heaps more and more services into the shared account, rural taxes have skyrocketed.

During the first four years of amalgamation, municipal taxes collected from the Oakland and At-Large levies increased 39%.

Meantime, taxes paid by village residents through the Wawanesa and At-Large levies dropped 31%.

You can see the numbers and charts by clicking here.

Councillors Admit System is Unfair

When asked at Monday’s public meeting whether they feel the current system for funding shared services is fair, a number of council members said no.

Following my presentation, resident Linda McRae-Walker submitted a petition with 100 names demanding At-Large funding be based on population instead of property values. The petition cited several examples where Oakland is paying significant costs to urban-centred services, including the Wawanesa Waste Transfer Station, Handi-Van service, fire department and the municipality’s satellite office located in Wawanesa.

Most outrageous is rural residents paying an 85% share for rental of fire hydrants located in Wawanesa.

Since amalgamation, fair taxation has been contentious and the 2019 budget, which received first reading by council on April 16, does not address the problem in a meaningful way.

Take Action

I urge you to contact the municipal office or your councillor of choice and push for a delay in budget ratification until new rural councillors can join the discussion and advocate for taxation fairness. Contact info is listed below.

Make your vote count on June 20, by electing councillors to Ward Two-Rural North and Ward One-Rural South who want fair taxation in Oakland-Wawanesa.

Regards,
-Glen

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