Author: alby59

When I was a kid, I had a school teacher that thought all of his students should study the lives of those who had made some considerable contribution to humanity. This teacher was an idealist and through his passion, he was able to influence not only me but the whole class. In fact, when I…

Things have changed.  Only less than two months ago, I wrote about the challenges of today’s human nature and how difficult has become to communicate. At that time, the novel coronavirus (or COVID-19) was scourging China and a few other Asian countries. And then, a few days after my article, all hell broke loose.  Today,…

I recently published a series of articles explaining how a municipal budget works. Do not worry, this blog is not about budget or technical information. Rather, I have been thinking of the different reactions to the information I provided and how surprising some of those reactions have been. The information was read four thousand times…

Last night (February 20, 2020) the Lake Country Council deliberated further on the 2020 budget and with this article we wish to explain where we are at and what happens next. A QUICK RECAP OF BUDGET DELIBERATIONS THUS FAR The 5-Year Financial Plan Bylaw, which includes the 2020 budget, was sitting at First Reading with…

In the last few weeks we have tried to explain the budget to Lake Country citizens. It is not an easy task for us as we tend to use jargon to talk about what we do. It seems to be second nature, but we believe that everyone has a right to understand where the money…

As we continue to explain the Lake Country budget, I’m going to provide more numbers and explain where the money is going. Before we do that, let’s briefly talk about various taxes and what you see on your annual property tax notice. TAXES AND FEES: There is a difference between taxes and fees and there…

What is in a number? Sometimes it is difficult to put things into perspective if we do not truly look into their impact on us individually, especially when it comes to money. In the last two articles, I gave you some indication of the general meaning of numbers. I explained the true meaning of a…

Every year a municipality must approve a budget. It’s the law! Many don’t know that the Canadian Constitution recognizes only two levels of government: federal and provincial. Local government was placed under the jurisdiction of the provincial government. Why is this so important in our discussion? Well, for one, all the laws to regulate the…

This is the time of the year that we discuss budget needs for our local government services. We hear of numbers and services and we hear confusion about what all this means. The confusion results in frustration with what to expect when the tax bill arrives in May. Well, let’s try to explain some basic…

I spoke to my staff and Council at my office’s Year End lunch event and I shared some thoughts that have become very dear to me as I have been reflecting on another year gone by.  When I spoke to them, I said that last year I felt I had to share a message of…