Scott Fitzgerald

Balancing taxation and services provided is always the tug-of-war that the city has to contend with. Basic services must always be protected as do the most vulnerable in our city when any cuts or efficiencies are found. Continuing to strive for value for money and reduce waste has to be a cornerstone of the budgeting process. It is difficult, as someone who is not on council yet, to decide what programs or services I would be willing to reduce but I would be guided by the principle of affordability. Can we afford to do this right now without raising taxes?

Walter Harding

As a city we have to make certain residents, businesses and visitors are taxed fairly and equally.
While the cost of providing municipal services which includes a plethora of areas we must make certain to not overburden businesses owners, property owners and individuals who pay their fair share of tax through their rent every month.
We should not be charging residents full mil rare who do not receive full services from the city. When garbage collection and snow clearing is not provided to these residents we should be adopting a fairer approach and giving them a mil rate decrease over residents who avail of all city services. As well, we should not be charging two water taxes to property owners who are only availing of one unit. We as a city would always provide a fair water tax exemption to property owners who filed a tax exemption application once a year and we should return to this policy immediately.
We as a city have to find inventive ways to stretch every tax dollar to do more with less, to  strategize and encourage new businesses both big and small to grow their idea into a success in our city.
We must be a welcoming and supportive city when it comes to our building department and permit application process. Encourage, invite, supper and serve with great vigour those who want to sustainably develop in our city.
We must do our absolute best to discourage urban sprawl as it has many negative impact’s including high upfront costs and instead encourage growing “ up “ as opposed to “ out “. We should encourage and promote the many positive aspects of an increase in our population density, the development of mix use neighborhoods and wherever we can educating residents and business owners of the many positive impacts of having neighbours close by.
Fair and equitable taxation, maximizing the return of every dollar spent, sustainable growth in both sectors of residential and commercial development, investigating best practices elsewhere, limiting urban sprawl and promoting population density as well as mix use neighborhoods are all great starting points moving forward to ensure a healthy and prosperous, sustainable and affordable city.

Mark House

Taxes are always a contentious issue, especially when residents feel like they’re paying more but getting less in return. My priority will be to find a balance that keeps taxes as affordable as possible while ensuring we maintain and improve vital services like infrastructure, transit, and public safety. We need to be smart about where we allocate resources, and I will advocate for transparency and community consultation to ensure that residents know exactly how their tax dollars are being spent. If cuts are necessary, I will fight to ensure they don’t come at the cost of the services that matter most to residents.

Paul Morgan

● I believe the city residents are taxed enough and I would have difficulty raising taxes
● A city our size needs and wants a certain level of service. The council would need to look at efficiencies in budgetary issues. The cutting of services would be difficult to do but we would have to look at areas
for savings
● We all know that the city’s infrastructure is aging so St. John’s being the capital of Newfoundland would need more provincial and federal funding. Create a task force to look into this issue

Greg Noseworthy

[To Come]