Public Meeting Jan 21: Have Your Say On 2016 Puslinch Tax Increases

Puslinch Township appears to be on the verge of regressing back to the days of unfettered tax increases. During the last municipal election it seemed like every candidate clearly stated they would be fiscally prudent managers of our money if elected, ensuring Puslinch would be an affordable place to live going forward. However, once elected…

To be fair, from their voting records, it would seem that at least two of our five elected council members seem to be working towards that goal. Unfortunately, it takes three councillors to win a vote.

Tax levy increase currently at 8%

As of the last budget meeting on November 25th Puslinch Township will be increasing its tax levy by just over 8% unless we, as taxpayers, do something about it (see the article here).

It is not, however, too late to affect change within our township – there is a public meeting being held on January 21st at 7pm at the township council chambers. Hopefully enough people will attend that we can persuade council to cut their spending.
If you cannot attend, you can either call or email your concerns to our councillors before this meeting. (links to all councillor’s email addresses and phone numbers will be included near the end of this article).

After reviewing the proposed 2016 budget documents, we’ve decided to print a few of the larger discretionary capital spending items it includes for your information. These are all one time charges and do not include ongoing, regular expenses.

Obviously not everyone will agree on where to spend our money (after all it is OUR money) but we feel it is important that everyone has some idea of why their tax bills will be so high in the coming years if nothing is done. We have not included any road maintenance or construction as we trust our roads supervisor to determine our needs and roads are a must-have, core service.

Keep in mind when reading the following that according to Puslinch budget documents, every $33,000 of additional spending will increase your Puslinch taxes by 1% (by extension, every $33,000 NOT spent will reduce your Puslinch taxes by 1%).

If the 8% projected tax levy increase isn’t bad enough, it’s worth noting that this budget includes NO contributions to reserve funds at all. It is simply a tax, spend and drain the accounts budget. For further information on these and all other proposed expenditures download the full proposed budget by clicking here. We would strongly encourage you to look at this document. In the coming years there are MANY more high value items in the budget such as the half million dollars for new lights on the baseball diamonds and possible plans for new soccer fields, splash pads and trails.

Can seniors afford to stay in Puslinch?

According to the Puslinch Recreation Master Plan the Township’s median age is “the highest median age in Wellington County. The Township’s median age is also substantially higher compared to the Provincial median (40.4 years)”. It also states that “Most notable is the dramatic increase projected in the 70+ age group – an increase of 105% by 2031, despite only a 14% increase across all ages.”

Since Puslinch has a larger than average number of seniors living here we have to ask ourselves: “How will our senior citizens, on fixed incomes, absorb almost double digit tax increases into their budget?” What about the compounded long term effect of big increases on our already large tax bills every year? How long will it be before our seniors are driven out of the Township because of an inability to afford their property tax bill? We need to look out for our senior citizens and say NO to high tax increases. If you are living on a fixed income or have family who are, it’s simply time to stand up and SAY NO.

What about our young families?

We’ve heard from young people that they simply can’t afford to live here. Even the children whose families stretch back generations in Puslinch will soon have to move out of our Township. How will our community thrive and survive when the only people who can afford to live here are the affluent? Do you really want to see Puslinch morph solely into a retirement community for the rich?

Public Meeting, January 21st

You are invited to attend the public meeting being held to discuss this tax increase on January 21st at 7pm at the Puslinch Township Council Chambers, 7404 Wellington Rd 34. This will be your LAST chance to challenge the need for extravagant spending and higher taxes in our community.

If you cannot attend the meeting, please email or telephone your councillors and let them know what you think. Talk to your neighbours and friends and make sure they know about the meeting. Click on the following links to contact your councillors:

• Councillor Wayne Stokley
• Councillor Matthew Bulmer
• Councillor Susan Fielding
• Councillor Ken Roth
• Mayor Dennis Lever

According to inflation statistics the average inflation rate for Canada in 2015 was just 1.08%. Senior citizens in Canada will be getting an increase of 1.2 percent in their pensions for 2016. Isn’t it time we demand our tax increases at least be in line with inflation?

Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to address the high cost of living here without full services by asking Council to find ways to REDUCE our property taxes (a novel idea!). It just doesn’t make sense that they are as high as they already are.

As stated in a previous article:

“When discussing our vision of Puslinch and what the Township provides taxpayers we need to keep in mind that everything has a cost. Absolutely nothing is free. Maybe we need, as a community, to decide what we can and can’t provide in the way of services in our small township that are over and above what most people would consider ‘Core Services’. Perhaps living in a predominantly rural community without garbage pickup, without all roads being paved, without water and sewer and gas services means an expectation of a simpler life – with tax rates that reflect that reality.”

We hope to see you at the meeting on January 21st.