The Paris Independent
8
February 3, 2024
COMMUNITY NEWS Taxpayers’ opinions: Higher taxes, the new library, roads and infrastructure and transportation among the top concerns By Casandra Turnbull The Committee of the Whole got a look at the results of the 2024 Budget Public Engagement campaign this past Thursday. Once the proposed budget is presented, part of the annual budget process requires the County of Brant to collect feedback from the public. That feedback is considered to help council make informed decisions before approving the 2024 budget. The county collected the feedback through its EngageBrant website from January 5 to January 22. The page recorded a total of 796 visits, of which 230 people took a deeper dive into the information provided beyond the main summary page. A couple dozen individuals engaged in questions and/or provided feedback. Some of the prevalent key themes included: Concerns about the proposed 10.5% tax increase (accounting for 24% of the feedback), concerns over the new main branch library project (a total of 13% of the feedback), approximately 10% of engagers wondered why the Corporate Strategy Staffing/Budget was so
high and another 10% expressed concerns surrounding infrastructure, particularly roadwork projects. “Please improve availability of Brant Transit. As ‘Public Transportation, it has very limited availability. It does not serve the purpose of "Public Transportation" at all”. said one person. Another person asked, “Why can't we have a shuttle/bus service like we used to have? Pick up and drop off spots around the community and going in and out of Brantford, etc. throughout the day like every hour”.
county did clarify the $383,000 is not reflective of current home values, but values from 2016. So that means the average median home can expect more than a $366.75 increase this year.
“The proposed residential property tax hike is another example of the County being out of touch with reality - which is evident by the illustration used to sell their agenda. A median home value of $383k to illustrate the tax increase is deceptive and disingenuous. The irony is it was illustrated under the guise of transparency. If you lived in the County, you’d appreciate Some residents wondered how the how ridiculous that illustration county based its median home was,” said one commenter. value at $383,000, which would equate to a $366.75 annual Continued on page 9 increase on that median home evaluation if the budget is approved at 10.5% tax hike. The
