The new fees for fire services that have been
passed by council is nothing more than another tax grab by our
city. One has to wonder what our regular taxes are paying for
when we continually see new user fees and charges for
services.
The fire department and its equipment are
already paid for. The trucks are paid for, the staff gets paid
regardless of where they are when they are on
duty, the buildings are there and paid for,
even the insurance, presumably, is already paid.
Among the new fees that we will now pay is a
$100 fee for the inspection of a single-family home. So, to
make sure my family is safe, I will now pay a fee. This makes
no sense at all. This type of offering by our local fire
department falls under community safety and should not be
subject to a fee.
As for the foam and extraction fees, we are
told: "don't worry the insurance companies will be billed for
this." That's rubbish, we all know what the insurance companies
will do, they will pass that cost on to the consumer at premium
payment time.
This whole thing just smells bad to me. We
continue to pay more taxes while at the same time the services
that used to be covered by those taxes are no longer there. I
feel especially bad for residents of the Valley and other areas
that have been subjected to area rating. They already pay more
for fire
services than those of us that live in the
central part of the city. This is a double whammy for
them.
I really wonder where our tax dollars are
going. Our budget is over $400 million and we are warned that
more tax increases are on the way. Where is the voice of the
common taxpayer at city hall? If our elected officials are
truly representing us, where are the calls to action to find
more savings in-
house to avoid just this type of cash grab?
Something is very wrong with this picture.
Fern Cormier
Sudbury