At this juncture, the citizens of Estevan don't have much choice other than to go along with this current council's decision to implement another hefty property tax increase on the residential and business community.
But that doesn't mean that residents should blindly and faithfully fall in line.
It will mean that this council will have to prove their mettle if we're going to allow them to take another $2.2 million from us.
We expect there will be some insistence on showing tangible results from this year's tax take, especially since it falls hard on the heels of last year's huge hike.
There will have to be return on this investment in our city. We can't continue to lose ground on debt repayment at the expense of continual wage increases or dubious purchases and window dressings.
Projects that were started must be completed this time around.
Debt must be reduced by at least $1 million. No taxpayer wants their money being spent on interest payments to banks. That's not progress.
We understand this current council is, for the most part, paying for the sins of the past few decades when previous council bodies were too frightened to hike taxes to any significant level.
But this group has now had sufficient time to chart their own course and leave their own legacy. Like any political party, they can only use the faults of those who came before them as an excuse for a limited time. Eventually they have to take ownership of the agenda. In this case, that time is now.
The call went out two years ago for sacrifices from taxpayers. The time has now arrived for council and the current administration to take ownership of the civic situation and plot a path out of our economic and infrastructure maze.
It won't be easy, but we have faith that this current crop of councillors will find a way out of the mess. It may be slow slugging, but it has to be done.
Our streets continue to be an embarrassment and those that have been recently repaved, are already showing signs of wear and tear. The need for that semi-truck bypass is needed more than ever. We can only hope that our provincial Highways and Infrastructure Ministry will dedicate some time and talent to the project this spring and summer.
There is also a crying need for our council to start taking a firmer stand with our senior governments. Being faithful friends to the two current governments is nice to see on the social front, but the sugar treatment has gotten us precious little in return for the tens of millions of dollars that have been sent their way by local businesses and residents. Perhaps a little vinegar should be applied in replacement of the sugar-coated requests we've been so famous for during the past 10 years. Sugar hasn't worked try vinegar.
We say that only because it's been well established that this city and this region is in dire need of some senior government money to mitigate all the damages that have been inflicted on our infrastructures in the name of progress. Local property owners can't be expected to carry the biggest load. We need some of our money back from the provincial and federal trust funds and perhaps it's time we quit asking nicely for it and started demanding a return on our investments.
In the meantime, we've girded ourselves for another big tax jump. Let's see what happens.
