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Taxpayers' Association says city is misleading the public or bad at math

Don Rennick of the North Bay Taxpayers' Association argues that the city has either been misleading council and the public with their proposed 2015 tax levy increase or just miscalculating basic math during Monday night's council meeting.

Don Rennick of the North Bay Taxpayers' Association argues that the city has either been misleading council and the public with their proposed 2015 tax levy increase or just miscalculating basic math during Monday night's council meeting. PHOTO BY LIAM BERTI

Don Rennick and the North Bay Taxpayers’ Association think that city staff and council are deliberately misleading the public or just plain bad at math.

The organization’s treasurer took to the microphone in front of City Council on Monday night, where he argued that the numbers used to calculate the proposed 2015 tax increase are wrong.

This year’s proposed 2.86 per cent increase, which has come as a result of the most budget meetings ever, should actually be more like 4.1 per cent, Rennick said.

The calculation for the 2.86 per cent that has been presented so far uses the 2014 operating budget with growth factored in ($77.5 million) and the proposed 2015 levy without considering growth ($79.7 million).

But when ignoring the growth rate for both the 2014 and 2015 numbers, Rennick said the actual increase of this year’s proposed budget is $3.1 million, a 4.1 per cent increase, not the $2.2 million that has been communicated.

“Instead of starting with $76.5 million [in 2014], they started with $77.4 million, so they started with a higher figure to give us a lower increase for this year,” said Rennick. “That means staff is deliberately misleading the public or simply just unaware of basic math. Either option is not very pleasant to consider.

“Regardless of the level of one’s math skills, I think everybody would agree that when you’re calculating the difference between one figure and another, you can’t change the opening figure in the middle of the calculation,” he added.

But he also brought Council’s role into question.

“The Mayor and the majority of council members are complicit in this as well because they are reiterating the fake figures or just going along,” Rennick said. “Are they deliberately misleading the public or blissfully unaware?”

Rennick’s presentation caused a noticeably agitated Coun. Tanya Vrebosch to call a point of order, meaning she considered the integrity of a city employee impugned by his statements.

The Mayor then gave the city’s chief administrative officer, Jerry Knox, the chance to address the accusations.

“We’ve been presenting the budget in this fashion for a number of years,” Knox said. “What we are trying to do is demonstrate to council and the community what the cost of running and operating the city is.

“To suggest that there are different ways of looking at the numbers, absolutely; everyone knows there are different ways of looking at it,” he continued. “But to suggest that we are misleading is extremely offensive to staff and it should be to council as well because they have been going through this budget process for a long period of time.”

He said city staff will explain the budget calculations and their process in depth for council members during Wednesday’s final installment of the special budget meetings. 

“If that’s the way they are going to do it, they have to do the same thing for the following year,” said Rennick. “Doing it wrong for years doesn’t make it right.”

The Association also raised a similar concern in the 2014 budget process, arguing that the real tax levy increase was 2.79 percent, not 1.57 per cent.

Rennick used the calculations to transition into reiterating the Associations’ request that the city lower the levy increase to below last year’s by cutting the largest line item: wages and benefits.

"Most informed citizens are tired of being cash cows to pay for a system that over compensates very few at the expense of taxpayers,” he said.

While budget chief Sheldon Forgette was unable to have a conversation with Rennick during the presentation question period, he did voice his opinion after the meeting adjourned.

“I don’t have a problem with a taxpayers’ association, but what I do have a problem with is an association that does not follow the law,” Forgette said after the meeting. “They collect donations on their website and they are not a registered non-profit, which leads me to believe that the donations go to their personal bank accounts to fund their organization.

“They hide things continuously, their website does not show their agenda, does not show their minutes, and it’s a pretty hidden organization," he added. "We are here and we are elected to represent the citizens of the city, not the North Bay Taxpayers’ Association."

Next up for the local politicians is the fourth and final opportunity to bring their cost-cutting or budget-boosting ideas before their colleagues on Wednesday night. The budget vote is set to take place on March 16.  


Liam Berti

About the Author: Liam Berti

Liam Berti is a University of Ottawa journalism graduate who has since worked for BayToday as the City Council and North Bay Battalion reporter.
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