2016 Budget: Let's Talk Taxes

These aren't my words.

Mayor Van Bynen wrote the "2016 Budget: Let's Talk Taxes" as the title to a blog post on his website. That post was published on October 24, 2015.

OK Mr. Mayor - we're listening. Do you have anything to say?  Anything at all?

In this week's Committee of the Whole meeting, the Operational and Capital Budgets were passed in approximately an hour. Oddly, there were very few questions posed by Council members to the Treasurer. There were many instances of back slapping and self congratulations though.

Many among the nine people elected to serve as the watchdogs of the public purse remained stone-faced silent during the entire exercise.

At this upcoming Monday's Council meeting, the budget will be ratified.  Like they've done for the past 10 years (as they have each and every year since Van Bynen has been elected Mayor), your property taxes will rise at a rate well above the cost of living.

I doubt that the debate will be any more vigorous on Monday than what we have seen thus far.

As opposed to the heated yet important debates we had seen between 2010 and 2014, when former councillor Maddie Di Muccio would push for cost cutting measures each year to balance the books, (ultimately she would vote against the tax hike), the past two years of budget talks have been rubber stamping of whatever goodies the bureaucrats demanded.

We still won't have plowed sidewalks that were promised. We won't have any service enhancements, such as Monday Library openings or investments into job creation measures.

What we haven't seen is any council member Tweet, Facebook post, or blog anything supportive about the budget in 2016.

When even the Councillors of the Town of Newmarket can't find anything good to say about the 2016 Budget, then what should the rest of us think about it?

And if they can't find any reason to promote the Budget, then why are they voting in favour of it?

Doesn't the Councillors' silence speak volumes?

It's your 2016 Budget,  Why aren't the Council members talking about it?