Fedeli Reacts

Incumbent Victor Fedeli reacted to Mayoral Candidate Stan Lawlor’s Media Release stating Fedeli just doesn’t get it.

Mayor Fedeli stated "Taxes came in at 2.9% this year – plain and simple. The year before we took office, the tax increase was 9%. Our three years saw taxes come in at 6.2%, 3.9% and 2.9%. Those are official numbers, backed up by our Chief Financial Officer.

Any other increase on a tax bill is due to the Provincial assessment. That’s why we continue to challenge the Provincial government to lessen their dependence on local property taxes to fund social services."

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Following last night’s debate, Mayoralty Candidate Stan Lawlor today expressed concern that Vic Fedeli just doesn’t get it.

While property taxes have increased by 13.5% over the past three years, Fedeli continues to claim that taxes have decreased. To make matters worse, water and sewer bills have increased by a staggering 29% over Fedeli’s three-year term in office. As Lawlor stated during the Mayor’s debate, “these exorbitant increases are taxing local residents out of their homes and leading many of them to move to surrounding municipalities, where taxes are much lower.”

This morning, following the debate, one gentleman came in with a tax bill that had increased by 30% over the past three years, leading to concern about the implications if this continues over the next four years.

Lawlor’s advice to citizens is to do the math and see for themselves how much their taxes and water charges have increased over the past three years. He invites citizens to keep him posted on the results in an effort to bring this important issue to a head.

On the health unit front, Lawlor again emphasized that the confrontational stance that Fedeli has adopted with the North Bay – Parry Sound Health Unit, by refusing to pay the $380,000 levy for 2006, has exposed the city to a fine of $25,000 per day since January, 2006. This leads to a total potential fine of $9,125,000 annually until the matter is resolved. Said Lawlor, “this just defies logic. If the city disagreed with the levy, they could have paid it under protest and waited until the audit was completed to determine how much of the levy was returned.” North Bay is the only one of 31 member municipalities that has not paid its 2006 levy. The other municipalities will be getting refunds following the health unit audit, while North Bay fights it out with the North Bay – Parry Sound Health Unit.

Lawlor believes that the health and well-being of our community in the future depends on a return to a situation where cooperation, consultation and communication replace confrontation and litigation as the basis for relationships. In short says Lawlor, “we build better when we build together.”

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