JANUARY 9, 2008 IS TAX CUT NOW! DAY

In case you missed the announcement, WeACT will be promoting January 9, 2008 as

TAX CUT NOW day

I thought the budget was supposed to be finished in December. For some reason, it was said recently that the budget will not be completed now until sometime in February. That would give Windsorites lots of time to make the Mayor and Council aware that we want a tax reduction and not a tax increase.

Then I saw the story in today's Star that now says that Council has wrapped up their budget sessions. What gives? Wow, is it now February? Or were Windsorites lulled into thinking we had 2 more months?

Several members of WeACT were giving out TAX CUT NOW stickers last weekend around the City. My understanding is that they ran out of the several hundred that they had produced within a very few short hours. Apparently the response was more favourable than anticipated, and why not since our tax rate is so high. The WeACT people underestimated the large number of people who were eagerly prepared to show support for what WEACT is trying to accomplish.

If you want a copy of the sticker or want to assist in distributing them, then just drop me a line at my yahoo e-mail address. You will have to wait however until the next batch of stickers is produced.

Interesting too that right after the WeACT announcement, the tax increase rate is now said to be 0.95%, a significant drop from the 2%+ it was before. A co-incidence...I hardly think so. The Mayor and Council are scared of angry citizenry! They actually read BLOGs and forums where they can see the anger being expressed.

Here is the press release announcing TAX CUT NOW day. Let's see how much lower we can go

JANUARY 9, 2008

Join WeACT members and Wear the Sticker. Give it out to 10 of your friends, family and colleagues. Help Spread the Word!

The Windsor Association of Concerned Taxpayers (WeACT) is announcing that Tuesday, January 9th, 2008 will be observed as "Tax Cut Now" day in Windsor.

WeACT spokesperson, Chris Schnurr, said that the purpose of the day is to send a message to City Council that any tax increases given current economic conditions are simply unrealistic. Taxpayers expect that Council will reduce taxes - not increase them.

"While some believe that taxes in Windsor are below average, the overall tax burden -especially on working families, seniors and the unemployed - is high compared to other Ontario cities."

Volunteers will hand out "Tax Cut Now" buttons around the City to promote the day. Buttons can also be obtained by emailing a request directly to WeACT via the WeACT website www.weact.ca

WeACT is a citizens' group dedicated to promoting accountable, transparent and efficient municipal government and opposing unnecessary taxes and user fees.

"We are asking that Council seriously consider the ramifications of further tax increases on residents and our ability to compete for jobs with other jurisdictions."

Given that utility rates are increasing dramatically, especially water and levy rates, rather than attempting to have a tax increase even if close to zero, WeACT demands that every effort should be made to realize a tax decrease by focusing upon core municipal services.

"The city may have wants, but we need to focus upon delivering our needs effectively and efficiently," said Schnurr.