Please send me an email with your comments or questions and I will respond as soon as possible, thanks, Ross.
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So I’ll try and make this brief as I’m sure you’re all seeing plenty of emails coming in as we the residents of south frontenac have just recently found out that it is being decided upon whether or not to charge us for garbage tags that we already pay for with our tax bill.
I think this is gross. Especially at a time when due to covid we are about to witness people not affording their homes, and their business’s closing at unprecedented amounts.
Even with covid houses are still being built and sold at a high rate this brings with it a large amount of taxes, I myself am over four thousand a year. Im sure all this revenue could cover the extra costs of garbage pick up.
Here’s what I predict will happen, you pass this and most will pay for tags but use them sparingly, taking bags of garbage to their place of employment, burning it, or dumping it on the side of the road as I witness happening at the odessa turn off as well as locally on millburn road. This not helping your cause of added income.
I understand also that to curb the burning there will be a permit cost of 15 dollars. To me this is also a money grab as those that will burn their garbage will definitely not pay for a permit. If that’s to reduce the costs that’s affecting the volunteer fire dept, then maybe instead you should be looking at 500$ fines every time they show up for causes where someone is at fault.
If this is to try to get people to recycle more or compost here’s some ideas that could work, drop the fee on our tax bill of the 100$ for the tags requiring people to pay for all tags. This will encourage people to see that it’s coming out of pocket. Maybe they’ll get use to buying tags and buy them more frequently while also shopping locally where they are sold. Dropping our taxes will take the resentment away from making these purchases. Also maybe then people will do a little more to recycle. Also maybe discount compost bins so there’ll be less food waste going into the garbage bags. Also helping the local shops bring in customers for these discounted compost bins. Stores that close don’t pay taxes.
All the things I’ve mentioned help reduce waste while going a step further with the green initiative as well as helping local small business. While charging residents who are already struggling will have the guaranteed opposite effect. Im sure everyone living here will be very disappointed with this beautiful landscape when the roads and hidden gems turn to dumping grounds when no one is looking.
Please re think this short sighted idea to make a few extra tax dollars. I love this small community and would like to see it thrive and stay clean.
Yours respectfully,
Kerry Joyce
Hi Kerry, thank you for your comments. Just a couple of notes. The proposal before Council, which was defeated last night, could have seen a reduction in taxes as part of the plan to have residents buy all their bag tags. The 100 dollars on the tax bill was eliminated two years ago. The Fire Department already has the ability and does fine those that cause dangerous fires and it is often more than $500 dollars. The permitting system is to try and avoid some very substantial costs for residents from dangerous burning. There will be more information coming on the burn bylaw in the next few weeks, thanks again for your comments,Ross.