There's two schools of thought about using a six per cent municipal price index (MPI) to explain the city's budgetary pressures.
The city's position is it's an education tool to help citizens understand why property tax increases do not follow the lower consumer price index (CPI). The city buys a certain basket of goods that are unique to municipalities — construction materials, equipment, etc. — and different from some of the household items included in CPI.
Spending hawks argue it's pure public relations, a means to justify spending that's well beyond the rate of inflation most applicable to average citizens (I prefer Mr. and Mrs. St. Albert over Joe the Plumber, to be honest).
The truth probably is somewhere in the middle — public education expressed in a slick graphic that's deliberately front and centre during budget presentations.
There's no quesion St. Albert, like the rest of the region and Alberta, has been hit hard by inflation. But does the MPI vs. CPI debate really matter?
Every year a segment of the population advocates capping property taxes at CPI. It seems unlikely that city council would be able to whittle the 8.97 per cent proposed for 2009 down to something in the 3.5 to 4.0 per cent range, which is where CPI has been hovering lately.
No one on council is calling for service-level cuts. If anything, it's the opposite.
Mayor Nolan Crouse probably said it best this week, that MPI won't be a factor in his mind during the budget review. He'll be considering whether spending is justified at this particular time for this city.
The final spending tally this budget season will come down to priorities, not an inflation index. That begs the question whether council's priorities jive with Mr. and Mrs. St. Albert's.
What do you think?
Posts
