A Modest Proposal: The Elimination of Property Taxes

A long, long time ago, with a government not too far away, the rulers levied property taxes to pay for local goods and services such as infrastructure and programs like arts, education, justice and recreation. Since then property taxes have become a staple of governments around the world and used to varying degrees. I have yet to talk with anyone who says they like paying property taxes.

This project is a first in the world and heralds a new era in asset management, capital planning, fiscal management, and improved neighbourly relations. The revenue goal is cost recovery including funding reserves for future capital projects of all infrastructure and programs provided by the Town.

I would like to put forward a new system of user pay for those who dislike paying property taxes. In conjunction with cctv (closed circuit television camera) suppliers, mega data analysis using advanced algorithms and logarithms, logistical analysis, and increased collaboration with the federal and provincial government, it is my opinion that property taxes can be eliminated. In a pilot project with the suppliers, both private and governmental, the tools will be implemented to assess each individual, and grouped by family, a fee for the use of all goods and services in Kindersley. Users from other jurisdictions who are travelling through Kindersley or using our infrastrcuture and programs will also be billed in our system.

Here is a brief overview of the project. The images recorded by the cctvs will be transmitted to a local data centre where advanced algorithms and logarithms analyze the images for a variety of factors including:

·         Vehicle speeds and weight,

·         Unsightly yards including long grass,

·         Footfalls on sidewalks,

·         etc.

Once the analysis has been completed the information will be self-generated into a billing database and on a regular basis, perhaps monthly, a bill will be sent, through email or Canada Post, to the users; there will also be family billing as well. These practices are very similar to current best practices in many large firms except we are using the information differently.

What type of things will be charged? Everything.

·         Sidewalk usage,

·         Road usage, including:

     ·         Heavy trucks

     ·         Bikes,

     ·         Walking,

     ·         Skateboarding,

     ·         Parking,

     ·         etc

·         Facility usage,

·         Park usage,

·         Lighting usage,

·         Water usage (currently),

·         Waste water (currently),

·         Solid waste (will be improved),

·         Environmental usage such as:

     ·         C0₂ emissions,

     ·         0₂ consumption,

·         Land usage,

·         Good neighbour relations:

     ·         cluttered yards,

     ·         long grass,

     ·         no snow removal is recorded and will be billed accordingly.

·         nuisance and unhygienic behaviour such as:

     ·         drunkeness,

     ·         public urination,

     ·         spitting, and

     ·         etc

·         Security

     ·         i.e. speeders, jay walkers, and distracted drivers,

Another aspect to be considered is a credit for users who act with environmental awareness and are good neighbours. If you are a nice person you could get credit for:

·         Picking up litter,

·         Shoveling your neighbours snow,

·         Cutting your neighbours grass,

·         Planting a tree and other plants, and

·         Etc.

We are also looking at supplementary revenue development. The funds raised through this system will be given to social agencies such as West Central Crisis Centre, Minor Soccer, Square Dance Club and more. The supplementary revenue is raised through images recorded on cctv that people might be a little shy in sharing with loved ones and the public. For example: if you have an affair and it is recorded for posterity on cctv you can either share the images with your loved ones and the public or contribute to the supplementary revenue fund for local social agencies. As an example: after your affair is recorded you may want your money donated to the West Central Crisis Centre to offset the fees needed to work on your marriage or divorce.

These are some of the things we are looking at and the technology is there to measure usage. You have seen the technology used in the, photo radar, face recognition, marketing analysis, logistics, and more. The technology is here and we want to harness it for the good of Kindersley. Here is how it would work. Consider, you need a jug of milk from the store and you decide to drive:

·         Start car – an environmental charge

·         Car runs continuously is an ongoing charge until the car is turned off at the store and again at home.

·         Back car onto street – charge for usage of street until you get to the store

     ·         Includes:

          ·         Crossing sidewalk if you have one, and

          ·         Crossing curb and gutter

·         At the Store you may:

     ·         leave the car running – charge

     ·         turn the car off – no charge

·         The cameras record if you speed and you would be assessed a fee according to the type of use

·         If the store has a parking lot then there is no charge for parking

·         If you park on the street then there is a parking charge for use of infrastructure

·         If you walk on the Town sidewalk then there is a charge for the use of the sidewalk based on the number of steps

·         After you finish shopping you return to your car and go to the Events Centre to pick up your daughter

     ·         you are charged an environmental fee for using the car plus an infrastructure fee for the use of the roads

     ·         you park at the Events Centre and a camera recognizes you and your car and you are billed

     ·         each step you take is billed and another fee is activated when you open the door to the facility

     ·         each activity you do in the Events Centre such as the number of steps, washroom use, canteen use, dressing room entrance and the like are all billed to you as well as your daughter’s use of the facility

     ·         As you leave the facility and go home all of that is recorded and billed to your family account

It’s simple isn’t it?

Also, your home will be assessed for its environmental impact and land usage. A large home would be charged more because it takes more space and emits more particles into the environment. The same type of assessment occurs with commercial and industrial businesses. Again, the principle is user pay.

Let’s consider neighbourliness. I have been surprised by the number of requests I have had to help people deal with their problem neighbour. With the new system there is no need to complain about your neighbours because the camera records if their grass is too long, if their yard is unsightly, or if their garbage is not in a can but only in a bag. The same applies with noise and nuisance behaviour. Those activities contravening the bylaws and other laws are charged at a higher rate than normal usage. The same applies to the speeders around town and trucks that are over their weight limit. There is no longer any need to complain about bad neighbours and traffic violators because they are on camera.

There are many other areas in which you will notice subtle little changes and we are sure that it will make life much more enjoyable for everyone. This change will also have many policy implications over the years for the way governments tax and businesses operate.

This is a pilot project, the first in the world, and as such there will be stuff we get wrong or isn’t quite right and stuff we get right. So, please help us make this right so you don’t have to pay property taxes. During the transition this is how things will briefly work. During the first year data will be collected and analyzed. This analysis will be compared to the current property taxes to ensure stable revenue for the Town and that the fees reflect market value and are not burdensome to users; the charges have to be fair and market driven.

The second year bills will be sent out to collect revenue while property taxes are not issued but kept track of to compare with the billings. This will be done on an ongoing basis to ensure that the system works.

As more data is collected and analyzed the more fine-tuned the project can be better reflecting usage and growth. The end is in sight for property taxes and we will endeavor to ensure that the collection of revenues charged by the Town are enough to ensure the sustainability of Kindersley and its infrastructure and services.

Nobody that I have spoken with likes property taxes and now here is the first step to eliminate those taxes and usher in a new era of business rationalization in municipalities.

AFD