GuelphToday received the following Letter to the Editor from a reader who is skeptical about Cam Guthrie's campaign and other councillors in this municipal election.
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I'm concerned about the half-truths and disinformation churned out by Cam Guthrie and other sitting councillors in this municipal election. I expect better from elected officials.
In a series of videos on his election website, Guthrie claims to be concerned about affordability and property taxes. The focus of his concerns is always the library. But unless you pay close attention to local politics, you'd never know that bids for an $80 million south-end recreation centre came in 50 per cent over budget, or that Guthrie's council gave the green light to an "Operations Campus," which is projected to cost anywhere from $186 million to $228 million in 2021 dollars. I don't get the impression that Guthrie talks about these projects on the doorstep, but he supported both of them.
But here's the biggest hit to citizen water bills and property taxes that Guthrie will never talk about: growth. Growth doesn't pay for itself. A 2019 document from the Association of Ontario Municipalities states that "development charges only cover about 80 per cent of the costs of growth-related capital." That means property taxes are currently subsidizing the cost of growth.
What does that mean in concrete numbers for Guelph? Well, the current development charge for a new detached or semi-detached house is $44,192. If that's only covering 80 per cent of the actual cost, then Guelph residents are on the hook for the remaining $11,048. And that's just for one house!
Using those numbers, building 100 new homes on the periphery of Guelph would suck up $1,104,800 of public money.
You can imagine the impact on your tax and water bills when the council is approving thousands of new housing units every term.
And then there's our water. Guthrie's council approved $222 million to expand our water supply to accommodate future growth to 2051. A significant chunk of that $222 million will be landing on your water and wastewater bills.
Whose interests is Guthrie serving with this blistering pace of growth? Under former Mayor Karen Farbridge, Guelph was one of the only municipalities to have its provincial growth targets lowered. Farbridge made the case to the province that Guelph is a completely groundwater-dependent community, and we, therefore, have a maximum capacity to accommodate growth. Why hasn't Guthrie taken a similar stand if he is so concerned about "affordability," not to mention sustainability?
In my view, the answer lies in Guthrie's 2018 campaign financial filings and the amount of Guthrie's campaign donations coming from individuals with links to the development industry - many of whom don't even live in the city.
Rubber-stamping out-of-control growth won't solve the housing crisis or affordability crisis, but it will enrich Guthrie's developer backers.
If Guthrie is going to "methodically dissect and go over and over the budget," as he claims, then growth needs to be part of that budget review. Don't settle for half the story. It's not the library that's driving up your property taxes; it's growth. Ask Guthrie about the impact of growth on affordability for current Guelph residents, and more importantly, ask why he isn't talking about it.
Susan Watson
Guelph
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