What a person doesn’t say can be as important as what they do say. Here’s an example from the Oakland-Wawanesa council meeting on Tuesday, May 21.
Head of council Dave Kreklewich refused to apologize for misleading residents about the increased municipal tax burden on Oakland since amalgamation with Wawanesa in 2015.
I called for the apology because Mr. Kreklewich was publicly peddling a dubious claim about rural tax savings, while dismissing a 39.9% increase in municipal taxes paid by Oakland landowners between 2015 and 2018 as “untruthful.”
In his claim, Mr. Kreklewich offered the name of one Oakland resident who will pay less property tax in 2019 than 2013. However, when asked why this resident would see lower taxes in the face of rising property values and higher municipal mill rates, Mr. Kreklewich refused to provide details.
So I went looking and discovered that municipal taxes on the Oakland property cited by Mr. Kreklewich actually increased between 2013 and 2019, from $1,372 to $1,749. Yes, a provincial school tax refund does reduce the overall tax bill but the resident will pay 27% higher municipal taxes this year compared to 2013.
After confirming these figures with Oakland-Wawanesa staff, I asked Mr. Kreklewich to publicly set the record straight. I also asked council to consider censuring him. You can read that request on page 130 of council’s May agenda package or by clicking here.
Mr. Kreklewich did not apologize on Monday, but did acknowledge I was correct about the tax increase.
Council did not censure Mr. Kreklewich, even though the Council Members’ Code of Conduct states that all members are obliged to “govern in a fair, objective and transparent manner and in the best interests of the municipality at all times.”
One councillor remarked during Monday’s discussion, “I think it’s fair to say, probably, that we will be more careful in the future to make sure the numbers we are putting out are extremely clear.”
More than 1,700 residents in Oakland and Wawanesa have been impacted by municipal taxation policy which has disproportionately shifted spending for shared services away from village ratepayers onto rural. We need open dialogue on this. We need a transparent and accountable council to lead the way on fair taxation and other issues facing our municipality.
Rather than lead by example, Mr. Kreklewich misled by example. Rather than apologize when the facts were uncovered, he remained unrepentant. “There are so many factors that come into this,” Mr. Kreklewich told council. “It’s hard to say there’s an increase because of this or a decrease because of that.”
I disagree. Council sets the mill rates each year that control whether municipal taxes go up or down. Simple as that.
By refusing to admit this important point, the head of council is saying a lot without saying a thing.
Regards,
-Glen