As the weather turns colder, we are reminded again of the enormous cost of the social and humanitarian crisis on our streets in the richest province in Canada. As a resident of Whyte avenue, I see it everywhere around me. Just last night, a gentleman huddled in a sleeping bag in the alleyway next door.. The invisible become visible, often in transit stations, bus shelters, libraries, the remnants of public spaces.
Following my last post, (Raw Deal in the Region: Edmonton's Free Rider Problem) when you pay your property taxes, a percentage of your taxes are subsidizing the costs of the region, helping offset the taxes for property owners in the region. How much is that amount? And what do we do about it?
The City of Edmonton effectively provides various services and infrastructure projects for a Census Metropolitan Area population of 1,563,600, while only generating property tax from its resident population of 1,128,800.90. Before jumping to solutions as to how we can fairly recover costs, we need to correctly diagnose the problem.