The members of Estevan city council have a tough decision facing them in the near future.
With a rather mountainous debt load hanging over them and a laundry list of infrastructure needs as long as your leg, the members of council will soon have to decide just how much to raise property taxes.
Contrary to a recent report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business that a 10 per cent increase has already been decided upon, council has yet to arrive at a figure.
When the 2014 budget was presented late last year it included a one-mill increase. In the past, a one-mill hike equated to an increase of four to five per cent. However, with many homes being assessed at a much higher value over the past couple of years, a one-mill hike is now closer to that 10 per cent mark the CFIB mentioned in a recent report they issued on taxes in Saskatchewan.
There have been rumblings that some on council are OK with the one-mill increase while others would like to see something closer to two mills.
Whatever the case, they don't have an easy decision in front of them.
There is no question that additional tax revenue is needed. With a debt load of roughly $40 million, council can't, in good conscience, add to that total.
That leaves them in the unenviable position of having to go to local taxpayers to pay for projects such as the rehabilitation of Highway 47.
But, after stinging property owners with a two-mill increase in 2013, the question of whether or not to hit them hard again in 2014 is a critical one.
Not raising taxes is clearly a non-starter, no matter what shortsighted organizations such as the CFIB or Canadian Taxpayers Federation would have you believe.
For so many years in the 1990s council operated under the misguided notion that it was a good thing to not raise taxes. And while they were not raising taxes, they also weren't doing much work around our city, hence the backlog we face today.
So, how much should council ask property owners to pony up in 2014? We are of the opinion that a one-mill increase is fair.
A two-mill increase in 2013 was steep, especially when it coincided with an assessment increase where the value of some properties jumped from 50 to 100 per cent in some cases. But as much as taxpayers didn't enjoy the hike, for the most part, they seemed to understand it.
If council was to pass a second straight two-mill increase, the guess here is that taxpayers would be far less understanding. And not without good reason.
Everyone likes to talk about how rich people in Estevan are supposed to be, but the truth is many families have limited resources and another big tax hike would be a tough hit.
As the cliché goes, Rome wasn't built in a day. Estevan's infrastructure won't be rebuilt in a day, a month or even a few years. Knowing that, would a large tax hike this year really accomplish all that much in the big picture?
We would all like to see better roads and better overall infrastructure. But if it requires massive property tax increases to get there, council will make our city even more unaffordable than it already is and drive people away.
It will require patience from all involved, but the answer is a measured approach that ensures what financial resources are available are placed in the areas of greatest need. There will be short term pain, but in the long run Estevan, and the wallets of taxpayers, will be better for it.
