Seniors Take It On The Chin

Seniors are taking it on the chin, or maybe somewhere a bit lower. While seniors saw their CPP rise a paltry 0.4% (about $50 per year), the Brant County and City of Brantford Councils go along merrily raising taxes by 3.27 (or $67 for the "average homeowner") in the county and 2.27% (or $56) for the city and civic workers get raises in 2%- 3% range. These property tax increases (for some strange reason) don't take into account the increase assessment valuations on properties, so the actual tax increase will be more like 6% - 10%.

The reason for the less than one half of one per cent raise in the CPP was because the Federal Government says that this was the rate of inflation. So these tax hikes are far, far above the inflation rate. How can councilors justify this?

And, as well as these major tax hikes, seniors and all other homeowners, were just hit with an increase in electricity costs which will be much greater when so called "smart meters" with their much higher rates are installed in the next little while. And if that isn't enough, starting July 1st the new blended HST (the largest tax grab in the history of Ontario) comes into effect.

So, by the end of this year, the politicians and civil servants will still be doing alright, but most seniors will find themselves with a lot less disposable income. And many will be facing the choice "food or shelter".

Greenwich Street

If you drive down Greenwich Street in Eagle Place, you will notice that the block from Eagle Ave to Port St. , across from the canal, has no houses along it. About 30 years ago or so, there were about a dozen modest houses occupying this stretch. Then the City expropriated and bought them and tore them all down, along with about another dozen or so houses on Eagle Ave. and Rose Ave. They did the same thing with another dozen or so houses just off Murray St. near the canal bridge on what was Riddolls Ave and part of Glanville Ave. Maybe about 40 properties or more in total.

The idea for this mass destruction (all paid for by the poor taxpayers) was that these properties were going to be used as part of the BSAR. Well, thirty plus years later and the prospects of this happening are dimmer than ever. These properties have sat vacant all these years, generating no tax revenue (probably a loss of about $100,00+ for 2010 alone) as well as a loss of a substantial number of good moderate cost housing.

(As a side note, the Council under the leadership of Chris Friel, paid somewhere around about half a million dollars to the Six Nations for an easement through the Glebe Land for this same non road, that has since expired and with the changing political view on the reserve will never be repeated. More money spent with absolutely nothing to show for it.)

So, if you wonder why I and many others are skeptical, among other reasons, about and against the destruction of the south side of Colborne St., travel the few blocks down Greenwich St. and observe another Council folly. I, for one, am tired of seeing tax money wasted with no results to show for it. After all, these schemes are paid for out of our pockets, with money that most of us could put to far, far better use.

Out of Control

I'm reminded of the old joke where a police office pulls over a car going 100 miles an hour. The policeman asks the driver where he is going in such a hurry. The driver replies that he has no idea where he is going but that he is making terrific time.

Such is the case of the Brantford City Council and the south side of Colborne St. There is no plan in place for what will take the place of the existing buildings but the demolition of those buildings is speeding ahead with even the Expositor suggesting that our local MP should pressure the Federal Government to skip any environmental assessment of this project. I'm sure that this same paper would ridicule the current MP and his government and demand their heads , if some unforeseen environmental disaster occurs because of this lack of due diligence.

Yes, this scene is like a bus (and a short one at that), with Mark Littell in the driver's seat and the rest of the council on board, careening down the road at high speed, even though the final destination is far from clear.

Mark Littell

Brantford's weapon of mass destruction.

Memories

Just before Christmas, I was thinking about my early experiences with Christmas shopping in Brantford. I remember going uptown and shopping in such stores as The Right House, Parsons, Elliott-Wedlake's, Kresge's, Zeller's, Woolworth's, Metropolitan Stores, Eaton's, Stedman's, United Cigar, Laura Secord's, Duncan's, Lockington's, the Hobby Shop, etc. In fact, there were a whole host of shops and businesses uptown then, including several bakeries, grocery stores, lunch counters and restaurants, pool halls, five shows, five hotels, shoes stores, clothing stores, drug stores, jewelery stores, butcher shops, the market, a fish store, and even a shoe shine parlour among others. Now, almost all of these businesses are gone. And, if the destruction of the south side of Colborne street goes through, so will the majority of the building that housed these businesses of those days. Form the L,E and N station at the corner of the Lorne Bridge next to what is now Icomm Dr. (appropriately named for a never existent facility) and the New Benwell Hotel opposite it, down to where Icomm Dr. reconnects (formerly Newport St.) where the City Ice Service and Purity Dairy were located, few buildings will remain on either side of the street. The only block that will still be intact is the north side from Queen St. to King St. The story is much the same for Dalhousie St. with about the only block intact the north side between George St. and Market St.

Millions and millions and millions of tax dollars have been spent on this area and it just continues to fade into the past.