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I think compared with other places our taxes are reasonable, and we are getting our money's worth. Improvements in transit, new library branch, maintenence to roads in the older parts of town, continuous maintenece and improvements to existing recreational facilities, adding new facilities to accomodate growth. We should be looking to Toronto and Mississauga and learning from their mistakes. Mississauga is now paying for having zero tax increases during years of rampant development and relying on development fees to pay for services. Toronto, well - talk about lack of transparency, mismanagement, plus a 4% tax increase this year and still operating at a loss. We pay less tax than my parents do in Winnipeg on a similarly sized home and larger lot and I think we get more for it. Taxes should increase with inflation to pay for services, and also I think to be invested wisely to pay for future maintence of areas currently being paid for with development fees.

That being said, there is always room for continuous examination of budgets, ensuring we're getting the most for our dollar, and making sure it's as transparent to the public as possible so accountability is maintained.

I have a problem with complaints about the "million dollar glass wall".
1) It was planned for and approved in the overall budget years ago for the design of the town hall expansion. Residents had ample opportunity to review and comment on the design proposals and voice their opinions before the project was approved. If you're going to question the cost of a project or elements of it, that is the time to do it.
2) The expansion came in on budget
3) It adds architectural beauty to the building and helps tie it together. The wall is actually I believe a series of structural panes of glass that encompass 2 stories in the central entrance of the building and help support the ceiling (at least that's my best guess having looked at the building and knowing it was a 2 stories) and is a very central part of the design.
4) When the Champion reported the cost of this particular element earlier last year construction was well under way and I strongly suspect that the cost of initiating a redesign which would include at least : paying the architectural firm to redesign the building such that those window areas do not take structural load (not easy or cheap), costs associated with ineviatable delays that would result, cancellation fees likely associated with a long lead time item such as the glass wall, just to name a few would have well exceeded the original item price tag.
5) Removing them from the initial design may not have saved $1 millon dollars since there would have had to have been an alternative in place with associated structure, material cost etc. It may well have cost the same or more to go an alternative route in the intitial design phase.

If the project came in over budget and with delays I think there would be reason to complain, but since it did not and met all the design specs I don't understand why people complain about it. How many people would know or care a bunch of highly specialized panes of glass cost $1 millon dollars if the Champion hadn't focused one article on it?

Lou&Leanne, can you provide specific examples of where you have seen service levels drop?

Good questions Andrew.

By the time new councillors take their seats in November the 2011 Budget direction will be pretty much set. But the process provides opportunities, I believe in June and September, to give direction in budget preparation. Current council provides a minimum of direction at these meetings and very few civilians participate. It would really be great to see a dozen candidates as knowledgeable delegates speaking to the budget committee on direction for 2011. Hopefully the newcomers will be living with the resulting budget.

Some suggestions:
- Understand the budget process. Staff are rightly proud of it and I expect would be pleased to explain it to anyone interested.
- Understand the reserve accounts. Check the levels in the 2010 budget versus target reserve levels. How reasonable are the target levels - are they too high or too low?
- Define the procedure for budget variance. What is the approval procedure when operating or capital project spending exceeds budget? What happens to the surplus when operating or capital projects come in under budget?
- Follow the snow. The snow clearing budget should be very much under spent so far and the safety reserve account may be full. Try to monitor the trail of the surplus $$.

Good luck.

I am happy with my current property tax rate and I do think I'm getting my money's worth. There are some spots that can be improved, but in comparison's to other municipalities I like our current taxation levels and services.

I know previously there were discussions on some service level changes (i.e. garbage pickup going from once a week to bi-weekly) but I think people for the most part have gotten used to the bi-weekly pickups and understand the benefits to the town as well as to our recycling programs due to this change.

I think Steve & Kelly said it best about my current concerns. i.e. making sure we can pay for future infrastructure & service build-outs that are coming up.

About the snow-surplus, let's knock-on-wood and hope we continue to get very little snow fall. Then lets see that any surplus money out of that gets deployed to reserves and such and doesn't get spent willy-nilly. One good year budget snow-wise can turn into one-bad year in the future.

For the money we receive from Mohawk, we have to be careful that we don't end up relying on that. It could one day be cut-back so if from an operating standpoint we get addicted to those funds it could cause for some very unpleasant budgets in the future if those revenues should change. Wendy Schau said it well in a previous letter when she said

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OK, last little thing on the glass wall so I don't hijack the thread. Lou&Leanne - I found this link which answers many of your questions on the cost, alternatives examined and why the design choices were made.

http://www.town.milton.on.ca/commserv/the/FAQs_THE.pdf

Gord? Is that you??