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An interesting challenge

July 21, 2016   ·   0 Comments

AS YOU MIGHT HAVE READ elsewhere in this issue, Dufferin County councillors have been given an interesting document in preparation for discussion of the County’s 2017 budget.

The document presents three possible scenarios: maintaining the status quo for 2017 and beyond, while limiting individual property tax increases to the current rate of inflation; expanding on previous budget forecasts to add in major new projects or programs, and keeping budget increases below the general inflation rate by cutting services.

We suspect the third alternative will get relatively little support, since the councillors know that while tax cuts are always popular, cuts in services aren’t, particularly when the citizenry has become accustomed to either receiving them or knowing they are there when needed.

As for scenario 2, there’s little doubt there will be some support for a new social housing facility – one is clearly needed – or some form of public transit, but we doubt we’ll see either if it means tax hikes above the inflation rate.

Accordingly, our bets are placed on good old, familiar status quo.

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