Mar 2010

By Tara Seel, Tara’s Two Bits, Guest Columnist

The PCU Centre is a good thing. Sure, there are concerns among Portage la Prairie residents about a multitude of issues surrounding said centre, but the idea, on a whole, is a good thing.

Increased taxes are not a good thing, especially when we were promised that would not be the case. City council assured us the PCU Centre would not cause taxes to rise, and now, after announcing a whopping 7.5 per cent tax increase, they are scrambling to assure us it is not the fault of the PCU Centre that Portagers are going to have to dig deeper come tax time. According to Coun. Dave Quinn, the city needed to work in a 6.4 per cent increase to cover rising costs, including a $265,200 increase in salaries to firefighters and RCMP. This seems a bit farfetched, considering consumer prices only rose 1.3 per cent in 2009, according to Statistics Canada, and consumers paid less for energy in 2009. Doing the math, city council is telling us that while the rest of the country only saw a 1.3 per cent increase, the City of Portage la Prairie saw an increase five times that much?

Let’s break it down: According to Quinn’s numbers, a one per cent tax increase equals roughly an extra $85,000 for the city. So, the increase in salaries would be 3.12 per cent. Add the national rate of 1.3 per cent, and that is still only a 4.42 per cent tax increase, not 7.5 per cent. I’m perplexed. What is causing the math to not add up is what city council is vigorously denying: the PCU Centre, which is what caused the increase in debt financing and the extended rental contract at Southport pool.

On top of that, council has worked into its budget the development of Second Street N.E. It’s a wonderful idea, and one that would benefit the city. However, why would they tackle this project when a massive project is still underway and has yet to be paid for? As my dad would say, we can’t even afford a free lunch at this point. Yet, here we are planning a budget that sees unnecessary spending increases while putting the onus on the already financially burdened citizenry.

What’s done is done, and the PCU Centre is a done deal. It will bring much benefit to future generations in this city. However, further development is not an option right now. Now it is time to realize the burden we face and start tightening belt buckles, which the city appears to be trying to accomplish by cutting the position of Manager of Tourism and Special Projects, a position there solely to bring money to the city. Again, I am perplexed.

The scary thing is that there are always cost overruns, which we experienced with the PCU Centre. How is this going to be handled in next year’s budget? Another tax increase? With this amount of money being asked for, we need some straight shooting from those asking for it. It is unbelievable that the steep jump in taxes has nothing to do with the new multiplex. We’re in this together, and the solution is not to stand firm behind promises made on campaign trails. The solution is to put all the cards on the table and come up with some ideas that aren’t going to have Portagers struggling to pay their bills.

We will survive, but is mere survival enough?

http://www.portagedailygraphic.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2455399