One of the first major work items for the new Council will be to review and approve the 2023 budget and property tax levy.
We should all be worried about what tax increases are coming and yet some candidates continue to talk about hiring more people and spending more on programs such as the Community Improvement Program (CIP).
One of the first major work items for the new Council will be to review and approve the 2023 budget and property tax levy.
We should all be worried about what tax increases are coming and yet some candidates continue to talk about hiring more people and spending more on programs such as the Community Improvement Program (CIP).
Some candidates believe spending more will get them elected. They try to entice voters with their expensive campaign promises that they will fulfil once elected. Spending more is the easy way (we think of it as lazy) that requires no thinking.
Ask candidates to explain how they will do better.
Whether John Henderson or Lucas Cleveland is elected as the next mayor, they will need to do a lot better than the current mayor. The next mayor needs to be transparent and accountable.
We all know how to cast our vote but how we actually vote is sometimes totally different. Some vote alphabetically or by doing eeny-meeny-miny-mo.
Let’s look at how not to vote.
In the last election, candidates focused on how they would improve public engagement. In this election, very little mention is made of public engagement. We think it is very important and do not believe Council has been successful in establishing a true public engagement process.
Let’s talk about public engagement and public consultation and what the differences are.
This is a contentious issue, and we are not here to debate the issue. We want to provide you with some information to think about and let you decide. Mayor Henderson is proposing hiring a Climate Change Officer. Why?
We seem to never get it right when it comes to transit. We keep throwing money at transit hoping that this will solve the problem. It doesn’t. It is no surprise that some candidates as part of their election platform are talking about a transit master plan. This means another large expenditure for a consultant report that will be received for information purposes and gather dust.
Councillors work hard for the residents, but some rarely work with them. Do the candidates running for election have what it takes to be a good Councillor or Mayor? Read what it takes and then you decide.
There is no easy answer for something that causes so much hardship for so many. Most of it comes down to responsibility and accountability. We have been impressed by Michael Sprayson, a new candidate running for Council. He has some clear action plans that can be acted upon quickly by a new Council.
When someone says this, they are mostly either misleading you or do not understand themselves whose money it is.
Find out where the money that won’t cost taxpayers anything comes from.
Councillors approved using a consultant to do the User Fee study with a vote of 4 to 2 in favour. To read more about how some Councillors cannot say “NO!” to almost everything Town staff bring forward.
Although the average increase for the 2022 Town’s Property tax was 4.1%, the overall operating budget increased 6.3%. Two of the Councillors voted against this significant increase. The others who voted to increase your taxes significantly now need to explain themselves to you.
We summarized the recorded voting from the 2022 Budget Meeting. Which Councillors voted to increase spending?
© 2022 Cobourg Taxpayers Association
