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Show me the cost-cutting

Editor:

There is a very important section missing from the budget survey that landed in my mailbox. This is the part that tells me what efforts Township council, the mayor and staff have made to improve efficiency and decrease costs within their various departments over the last two years or so. The questions or suggestions of economy and efficiency are missing from the multiple choice selections as well.

When I want to trim my budget, whether it is personal or business, the first thing I do is look as every category of expense and see how I can reduce it a little. Perhaps the mayor and council could tell us if they have sent a request around to each department at municipal hall, asking for a two to five per cent reduction in expenditure this year?

Perhaps an informal operational audit to look at how to reduce expenditures could be done? How about cost-saving suggestions from staff and the public? Have our taxes been compared with those of other municipal governments in the region, to see how we are doing?

You see, if I don’t know that the municipality is doing these things, I am not pleased by being asked to respond to some fairly coercive choices on a questionaire. I want my municipal hall to run demonstrably well. I want staff and politicians to show and tell me how very well they are performing their duties before they ask me for more money — yet again.

Convince me you have done your bit and done it well Mr. Mayor, councillors and staff. Then, and only then, ask me to open my wallet wider.

Jeremy Smith, Fort Langley