Its almost as if they don’t even know that the worst economic crisis we have seen since the 1930s is looming.
The Mayor and council with their six figure salaries and multiple pensions feel that they can carry on with business as usual in city hall and continue to tax and spend as if times were good.
Jeromy Farkas and Sean Chu were the only voices of reason and as usual, they were insulted, belittled and shouted down by Mayor and the rest of council for their daring to propose to liquidate a city slush fund in order to halt the tax hike.
Ward Sutherland for example mused about Farkas having a “limited skill set”. When one considers that Ward’s claim to fame is his having spouted on about “Johnny Jew” while in the middle of an election campaign, he is hardly in a position to question the skill sets of others.
Along with Ward Sutherland, Naheed Nenshi, Druh Farrell, Evan Woolley, Shane Keating, Ray Jones, Peter Demong, Jeff Davison, Jyoti Gondek, George Chahal, Joe Maglioca, Diane Colley-Urquhart and Gian-Carlo Carra all voted in favor of a 7.5% property tax increase.
This makes for a very handy list of who should not be re-elected in the 2021, Calgary municipal election.
How utterly disconnected from reality does one have to be to not understand just how economically screwed the city of Calgary is right now?
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of Calgary was in a terrible fiscal position. Years of revenue from downtown energy companies had spoiled the city to the point that they hadn’t a clue how to stop overspending when the revenue collapsed. With a prolonged downtown office vacancy of 30 percent, the imbeciles in city hall tried to compensate for the lost tax revenue by increasing business taxes on remaining businesses by as much as 300 percent. Spending restraint simply won’t enter their minds.
We will be lucky if even three quarters of businesses in the hospitality industry reopen after the pandemic. Property values are going to be dropping dramatically and tax revenues will plummet.
How many businesses which had adapted to having their staff working from home will stick with that model after the pandemic? Many companies have just discovered that they no longer need brick and mortar locations or at least not nearly as much as they used to. Office space vacancy in Calgary is likely to spike to 50 percent soon. Who the hell needs it anymore?
Spending cuts aren’t a theoretical measure. They are a hard reality.
With the Mayor and council refusing to even accept that they need to get spending under control today, the economic catastrophe is going to be twice as bad tomorrow.
I don’t think there is any hope of bringing common sense into a group of people as disconnected from reality as the Mayor, most of council and the bulk of senior bureaucrats in Calgary city hall.
These people need to be fired en masse next year in the municipal election and replaced by people with a grip on economic reality.
The mushrooms in city hall have thrived on apathy and low voter turnouts. They count in an indifferent populace in order to maintain their perches and perks.
People are going to be galvanized and pissed off in the next municipal election. Calgarians will finally be ready for change.
We need to get to work right now in order to ensure that we replace the current crop of council mushrooms with decent people though. Fake conservatives such as Sutherland always manage to slither through the cracks and we need to vet these types out before they get near a council seat.
Calgary can’t afford another four years of the incompetence that Nenshi and gang have offered for the last decade.
Agree totally. I have tried to oust my councilguy (Carra) for the last few elections, but he sticks with his “any age, any stage, any wage” mantra and the sheep vote him in.
this is So upsetting now is not the time People are going to be galvanized and pissed off in the next municipal election. Calgarians will finally be ready for change Maybe this is What they all want they got fat pockets now..and a good pension but oh yeah Mayor Naheed has 2 pension give one back
shame on all that voted for the increase – we need to put their names and faces on a billboard on 16th avenue or somewhere very visible – they should feel ashamed that while many struggle they bring in additional taxes most simply cannot afford. It’s been tough sledding for a lot of folks theses last few years as clueless policies have destroyed industries and businesses by the scores – driving tens of thousands of good jobs out of the city and country. sitting there listening to the ranting of political children’s fantasies and paying them to burn thouosands of pounds of jet fue to come here to lecture us on conserving oil and not emitting carbon dioxide – intellectually dishonest and supportive ovf destructive legislation harming the jobs of those fortunate enough to actually have work to pay the misused taxes. now many really don’t have that option as local industries fall like dominoes in the wake of silly policies that won’t and can’t accomplish what they claim.
this kind of political pandering to the anti- alberta energy agenda simply is not something we can afford and continue current government spending – and when a representative actually says something that shows some responsibility to the contituents – the other reps attack his or her character – we cannot afford ythe luxury of ill-avised and destructive tax-increasing policies and programs – can’t they see the mess cities such s Detroit and places lik California are in due to uncontrolled spending and reckless policies?
ITS TIME TO CLEAN HOUSE STARTING AT CITY HALL
Kill the green line and every discretionary capital project they won’t be able to afford to operate and that isn’t crucial for our survival, I have to do this personally, they have to do it too, or its time for me to stop paying my taxes to get the message across.
I’m sure it’s safe to assume that if they are allowing early retirement packages, the huge financial bonuses are still in effect also. Capital spending needs to be on the down-low but obviously some projects will help employing quite a few. I’m also sure the city is taking advantage of the 75% payroll help from the Fed coffers. It is time to cut the fat and this council needs to figure it out quickly not raise taxes.
Ward Sutherland, Naheed Nenshi, Druh Farrell, Evan Woolley, Shane Keating, Ray Jones, Peter Demong, Jeff Davison, Jyoti Gondek, George Chahal, Joe Maglioca, Diane Colley-Urquhart and Gian-Carlo Carra all voted in favor of a 7.5% property tax increase.
The above should be removed and replaced immediately.