Voices - try listening to the Mayor for once

Probable VOICES' candidate Kerry Morris appeared before Council trying to launch a campaign plank of his and VOICES' campaign.  htnvcityvoices.wordpress.com/2014/02/08/update-petition-to-stop-the-ocp/

He calls out to "Oppose The OCP" as changes in soon to be amended plan will cause "Residential Taxes to Increase by 15%".  Frankly, this is just fear-mongering in a vain attempt to con voters and shows a lack of understanding of the municipal tax system.

Last year, Mayor Mussatto being frustrated with the lack of understanding about how and why taxes increase, explained the system.

A change in the assessment done by the Province does not mean increased taxes, municipal budgets are done by calculating what your total expenses will be and subtracting the total non-tax revenue estimates to come up with the amount of property tax will be required to balance the budget.

Kerry, building on his first erroneous assumption further leaps to another false assumption that a potential change in a property will cause assessments to increase an average of 15% which by his logic means taxes (mill rates) will increase by 15%. WRONG!

So let's say there was $50 million being raised by property taxes and assessments had just been doubled by the provincial government agency.  The City would just half the mill rate to gather the funds needed to support the $50 million of spending.  Plus whatever increases come up through union contract increases etc.Spending item move in and out of a ten year spending plan so that Council can see the impact that particular spending will on the tax rate. Taxes go up when a new item comes moves into the the current budget.

The taxation devil is in the spending details not in the method of taxation collection. To reduce taxes you have reduce actual spending, something an unregistered political party like VOICES or candidates like Kerry won't commit to.