Where the Wild Goose Goes

 Is anybody watching the threat emanating from the 'Empire Builders' of St. Catharines City Government?

Well, in case you missed it, the empire builders are making their case that their empire needs $20 Million a year to bring their empire up to their desired standards!

According to their own formula $20 Million equates to a 17% Property tax increase!

So just bend over and touch your toes because they're going to show you 'Where the Wild Goose Goes'!

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St. Catharines, once 'the shining city on the hill' now reduced to surviving on service industry predicated on allowing their once thriving and prosperity producing industries to slip away without so much as a whimper!.

Prosperity producing industries such as: Anthes eastern furnace, Eaton Yale and Towne tow motors, Ferranti Packard Electric, General Motors, Hayes Dana, Dominion Chain, Cunningham Foundry, Columbus McKinnon, etc., etc. plus the supporting industries!

St. Catharines won't be the first municipality to try to tax its way to a prosperous set of sparkling city venues at the expense of its suffering neighborhoods! Examples available!

Now we have a new shining example of myopic governments paying $Millions to bribe prosperity producing industries to come to the rescue of financially failing communities.

How could this happen? How did this happen?

It happened when our government leaders became a cabal of service industry members lacking appreciation of the necessary origin of prosperity producing entities because if society doesn't Farm it, Fish it, Manufacture it, Mine it in order to bring in the wealth needed to sustain everything we desire then unprotected property owners will suffer!

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Soothing the Savage Beast!

 What was the purpose of having an October 18, 2023 planning meeting of St. Catharines City Council way down at the Neil Campbell Rowing Center on the Henley Rowing Coarse away from prying eyes of the public?

We say 'Prying eyes of the public' because this Special Meeting was also NOT Televised!

It took two days for 'News Alert Niagara' to find out when, where and at what time this special meeting was to take place! ..

The Convener, Erin O'Hoski who did an admirable job directing the meeting actually introduced herself and inquired who I was. Erin was the only one to even acknowledge I was in the room! Perhaps by not assimilating into their common position, I've worn out my welcome.

As the planning session proceeded there were a couple of slides of interest. One slide showed an increase in government mandated tax of over $10Million 68% to 77%. 

Was there ever an outrage from our civic leaders? Did they ever try to protect their constituents from endless 'Empire Building' or do they just use the
higher level of government mandates as their go to excuse? 

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Let's see what this strategy looks like when it sees the light of day.

Unfortunately it is 'THEY' who determine 'Taxpayer affordability'!

Another slide illustrated the cost value of each percent increase in tax!

They banter jargon comparing other communities doing better or worse than St. Catharines without even mentioning the other communities by name.

News Alert Niagara would like to name one.

Ajax is not only a similar size as St. Catharines, it is also right across and on the shore of our Lake Ontario! As a matter fact there are no other communities mired in as much over-governess as St. Catharines mired in the Region of Niagara!

St. Catharines, once the shining city on the hill now reduced surviving on service industry predicated on allowing their once thriving and prosperity producing industries to slip away without so much as a whimper!

Its as though Adam Smith and his 'Wealth of Nations' never existed!

So, to answer our first question, the whole exorcise dubbed 'planning session' was nothing more than a squalid attempt to 'Sooth the Savage Beast'; the Savage Beast being the perceived growing threat emanating from some councilors who are becoming aware that double digit property tax increases are unsustainable. 

 Strategic Plan Refresh Project - OCT2023.pdf

Setting Taxpayers up for catastrophic failure!

Standard Reporter Karena Walter (Not present at the planning meeting) somehow managed to write the following diatribe, on behalf of the city, under the deceptive title:

St. Catharines asset conditions not a good news story

2023 Assessment Management Plan condition ratings

City non-core assets were rated based on replacement value

Buildings and facilities: 71% in good to very good condition, 15% in poor to very poor condition

Corporate fleet: 40% in good to very good condition, 48% in poor to very poor condition

Cultural assets: 59% in good to very good condition, 29% in poor to very poor condition

Fire services: 42% in good to very good condition, 48% in poor to very poor condition

Information Technology: 27% in good to very good condition, 51% in poor to very poor condition

Natural assets: 40% in good to very good condition, 12% in poor to very poor condition

Parking services: 49% in good to very good condition, 26% in poor to very poor condition

Parks: 40% in good to very good condition, 43% in poor to very poor condition

Source: GM BluePlan Engineering Inc. 

Tax System Broken 9/25/23

Tuning in to the September 25, 2023 St. Catharines City Council meeting to get first hand information on our broken tax system we first had to endure a (22) minute time killing monologue from Mayor Siscoe, most of which the world could easily live without.

Following the usual pontificating of dubious pandering for more taxpayer funding the council finally turned its attention to the broken tax system very late in the evening when viewers had ceased paying attention or have given up altogether.

How do we know that the Tax System is broken?

We know because the councilors said so!

Mayor Siscoe claimed that he has been saying the Tax System is broken ever since he headed up the Tax Committee. A Tax Increase of 10.5% tells us exactly what he and his comrades did to fix our broken Tax System.

Astounding! Listening to Council sounded like a child explaining that the smashed item shattered on the floor as "It Fell"!

What the clever councilors failed to address is how the Tax System became broken, when the Tax System became broken and who broke our Tax System? 

It Gets Worse!

During the non-productive debate on what can be done with our 'broken tax system' we had some councilors stating emphatically that nothing can be done including Councilor Ratzlaff actually calling the motion for starting tax debates from Zero increase as moved by Kushner and Garcia 'cowardly'. 

To call anyone professing their desire to come to terms with our broken tax system 'cowardly' clearly illustrates their dearth of historical knowledge such as the brilliant work of Adam Smith titled 'The Wealth of Nations' or even the gist of Oswald Spengler's massive work 'Decline of the West'. 

Perhaps they could take a few minutes to google Sir Winston Churchill's take on 'Trying to create prosperity by raising taxes'. Ayn Rand's book titled 'Atlas Shrugged' is a valuable source regarding the cost of bloated governance.

But fear not friends, our clever councilors have the opportunity to address the (eight hundred pound gorilla) in the room at their special meeting to be held October 18, 2023. 

Everyone is free to comment under each and every 'News Alert Niagara' article.

 Predicated on 'Free Speech' our articles are always available for your free use!

 Don't forget to click on the blue Links for the rest of the story!