Mayor Van Bynen is Ballooning the Size of Nwkt Government

Newmarket Mayor Tony Van Bynen is at it again.  This time he is writing in his blog about how favourable Newmarket’s latest round of property tax increases are in comparison to the rate of inflation. 

The can of worms opened by Van Bynen is actually a very important discussion for us to have. 

The inflation rate, generally acknowledged as the Canadian Price index (CPI), keep us informed about the year over year increased costs of the key items that consumers purchase. 

Here is an historic chart comparing the CPI to Newmarket Property Tax rate increases during the time that Tony Van Bynen has been Mayor:

Year	Average Inflation Canada (CPI)	Property Tax Increase
2013	1.24%	3.74%
2012	0.83%	3.95%
2011	2.30%	5.89%
2010	2.35%	3.81%
2009	1.32%	4.19%
2008	1.16%	6.56%
2007	2.38%	6.39%
2006	1.67%	3.81%

 What this chart show us is that while the cost of key consumer products have been going up incrementally, yet during Mayor Van Bynen’s tenure as Mayor of Newmarket, the cost of running the municipality has been increasing 2, 3 or 4 times the rate of inflation. 

I have highlighted in yellow the “election year” tax increases. 

I was not able to find a source to provide Newmarket’s population growth rate for this period of time.  In one report, York Region says that Newmarket’s population grew by 0.7% in 2010-2011.  In another report, York Region says the number of jobs in Newmarket has increased by 1.5% between 2003 and 2013.  I think it is safe to say that Newmarket’s population growth has been modest through this period.

During this election year, Newmarket residents are questioning why Tony Van Bynen has grown the size of local government substantially more than Newmarket’s local economy grew and/or the town’s population has grown. 

Van Bynen has a seven year track record of overspending and voters want answers why the Van Bynen administration has been ballooning municipal government without any real justification.