All topics Housing Getting Around Climate Food Growth & Planning Budget & Taxes Water

Michael Wisniewski

Regional Council · Region of Waterloo

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All topics Housing Getting Around Climate Food Growth & Planning Budget & Taxes Water

Budget & Taxes

Do you think the Region's or municipality's budget process should be more transparent and accessible to residents?single choice

It should be more transparent and accessible

Municipal and regional costs have generally risen faster than revenues restricted by property tax rules and limited local revenue tools. How would you balance tax increases against maintaining service levels and long-term financial sustainability?select up to 3 per part
A. Revenue approaches
  • Increased cost recovery by increasing user fees (e.g. recreation programs, parking, transit fares)
  • Area-specific levies where residents in a defined area receive or request a distinct level of service
  • As a libertarian, I struggle with taxation as a concept. However, if more tax burden were put on corporations. Corporations could always unincorporate, if they don't want to abide. So, by NOT unincorporating, corporations are opting in to our communal taxation and regulatory regime.
D. Growth & cost recovery
  • I'm running for Regional Council because of an issue I'm having with a local business that also happens to have a contract with the Region of Waterloo. That business has asked me to take my patronage of their service elsewhere while refusing to provide an explanation as to why. My position is that Waterloo Taxi Ltd., if they wish to keep their MobilityPlus contract, has to provide me, and Waterloo Taxi's shareholders, an explanation as to why I was told to take my business elsewhere.
B. Service levels
  • I'm running for Regional Council because of an issue I'm having with a local business that also happens to have a contract with the Region of Waterloo. That business has asked me to take my patronage of their service elsewhere while refusing to provide an explanation as to why. My position is that Waterloo Taxi Ltd., if they wish to keep their MobilityPlus contract, has to provide me, and Waterloo Taxi's shareholders, an explanation as to why I was told to take my business elsewhere.
C. Capital & infrastructure
  • I'm running for Regional Council because of an issue I'm having with a local business that also happens to have a contract with the Region of Waterloo. That business has asked me to take my patronage of their service elsewhere while refusing to provide an explanation as to why. My position is that Waterloo Taxi Ltd., if they wish to keep their MobilityPlus contract, has to provide me, and Waterloo Taxi's shareholders, an explanation as to why I was told to take my business elsewhere.

Please describe one concrete example of a trade-off you would support (or oppose) when costs rise faster than revenues.candidate's own words

I'm running for Regional Council because of an issue I'm having with a local business that also happens to have a contract with the Region of Waterloo. That business has asked me to take my patronage of their service elsewhere while refusing to provide an explanation as to why. My position is that Waterloo Taxi Ltd., if they wish to keep their MobilityPlus contract, has to provide me, and Waterloo Taxi's shareholders, an explanation as to why I was told to take my business elsewhere.

Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on budgets?candidate's own words

I'm running for Regional Council because of an issue I'm having with a local business that also happens to have a contract with the Region of Waterloo. That business has asked me to take my patronage of their service elsewhere while refusing to provide an explanation as to why. My position is that Waterloo Taxi Ltd., if they wish to keep their MobilityPlus contract, has to provide me, and Waterloo Taxi's shareholders, an explanation as to why I was told to take my business elsewhere.

If you chose "It should be more transparent and accessible", please describe how.candidate's own words

I'm running for Regional Council because of an issue I'm having with a local business that also happens to have a contract with the Region of Waterloo. That business has asked me to take my patronage of their service elsewhere while refusing to provide an explanation as to why. My position is that Waterloo Taxi Ltd., if they wish to keep their MobilityPlus contract, has to provide me, and Waterloo Taxi's shareholders, an explanation as to why I was told to take my business elsewhere.