There are certain immutable facts we live with every day — gravity, thermodynamics and the like — but lower taxes isn’t one of them.
“Nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,” said Benjamin Franklin in 1789, and very little has changed.
The one core characteristic of taxes is that they never go down. In some rare instances, officials may maintain the status quo with their budgets, but almost every year you can be certain your tax bill is going to rise.
That happens to be the case for both the Town of Westlock, which increased its tax rate by 2.8 per cent and Westlock County, which increased its rate by 3.98 per cent last week after passing their respective budgets. Despite the fact that both municipalities worked hard to get those numbers down from much higher levels, it’s going to be little comfort to ratepayers, who are going to feel it in their pocket books.
That’s just the way it is, don’t take it personally.
Councillors don’t sit around that table trying to figure out ways to stick it to ratepayers, quite the contrary, which is why some of the vitriol you see on social media is problematic. Nobody is in it for the money. We do not pay taxes directly to Ralph Leriger. The county does not belong to Lou Hall. These are elected officials. They pay those taxes too. Sure, they receive a stipend for the work they do on behalf of the municipality, but it’s nothing to live on.
It’s not like we’re not getting anything for our money. Everyone has an opinion on how the money should be spent and they’re entitled to that, but we elect people to make these tough decisions and it may be unfair to cast them in a dim light when they were the ones who actually came forward to put their names on the ballot, for nothing more than the best interests of their community.
Remember, the roads you drive on and the pipes that deliver and take away the water you use; the ice you skate on and the pool you swim in; and the snow is removed as soon as it is humanly possible because of municipal taxes.
It can’t be easy to look your electorate in the eye and tell them you need more money, but who among us could do a better job? If it’s you, well you should probably run for office.
