Raise the Hammer

A Smith >> Show me the numbers that says how much it costs to service suburban areas of the city. If you can't, then your basing your argument on nothing.

I'm basing it on average lot size which is easy enough to see with the naked eye. It takes 60 feet+ of pipe for each house when you have a subdivision of 60 foot lots. It takes 20 feet+ of pipe for each house when you have a subdivision of 20 foot lots. Ditto for length of roadway that has to be built and maintained. Garbage trucks have to drive further between stops. More length of roads and sidewalks have to be plowed. One doesn't need figures, just common sense to understand that large lots cost more to service than small ones.

Plus since all of those residences are so far away from commercial areas and employment, the average trip length is larger...meaning traffic policing costs (which are largely labour) are far higher.

And as far as the central library, AGH, and HECFI venues go, these are for the benefit of the entire city (including tourists for the AGH and HECFI). Downtown residents may be within walking distance, but the benefits accrue to the whole city's residents and businesses (it's called the Art Gallery of Hamilton, not the Art Gallery of Downtown)

A Smith >> The only facts we have are tax rates and home prices. Using these two numbers, we know that inner city homes pay tax rates 10- 15% higher than other communities, but have home values 50% less than other communities. Therefore, the total taxes paid by inner city residents is LOWER than the other areas of the city. Do you dispute this? If so, show me why this rough estimate is wrong.

So you notice that tax rates downtown are actually higher than elsewhere in the city. Funny how you argue that the tax rate is important and ignore market value when comparing vs. other communities, but suddenly tax rates are less important when comparing different parts of the city. The hole in your logic grows ever- larger.