Chairman Jim Bradley challenges council to fight against rising tax
Niagara Regional council is holding its nose as it faces the murky waters of the 2024 budget season.
Residents have flooded councillors will calls and messages about rising taxes, amid a balancing act of infrastructure maintenance and affordability.
However, Councillor Gary Zalepa was pretty blunt about this budget process. "For me, this is it... this is the most important thing you're going to deal with for the next year, 20 years.... so, if anybody pressures you about increases, just ask when you want to turn the water on."
Chairman Jim Bradley stressed a projected 9-percent tax increase in unacceptable, people cannot afford it, and council must fight that.
Director of Financial Management Helen Furtado pointed to a number of challenges including inflation and interest rates.
"We have 6 collective agreements, union collective agreements that are still outstanding, so we don't have final terms on those. And we also know that provincial subsidies are not confirmed on a timely basis," she says.
Councillor Fred Davies wanted to see more investment, along with maintaining infrastructure.
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