To the Editor,
The days of taxpayers being able to afford higher taxes are a thing of the past. Reports say that one in eight families in Canada have a struggle to put food on the table.
So when the staff and council planning the budget talk about increases, two, three or even four per cent does not seem like much but over 10 years, two per cent each year becomes a 21.9-per cent increase, three per cent is a 34-per cent increase, four per cent is a 48-per cent increase.
In the city’s own survey, more than 50 per cent of respondents wanted reduced taxes even if services had to be reduced. I hope staff and council were listening. Remember, Nanaimo – like General Motors, Nortel, Blackberry, and the City of Detroit – is not too big to fall.
Terry WagstaffNanaimo