Raise the Hammer

again, if you're going to randomly pull things out of a hat, you need to do it across the board.

ASmith: "The largest cost embedded in property taxes are employee wages. What area of the city do you really think calls the police/fire more often, Ancaster, or downtown Hamilton? One area is quiet and peaceful ,the other filled with welfare cases, ex-cons, rowdy bars and old homes that seem to catch fire every other week."

Ok, let's use the same principle but apply it to the employee costs related to garbage pick-up, snow removal, road resurfacing etc.... in low density, sprawled out areas. It costs way more (per home) to pick up garbage in an area where there is a fraction of the number of households as in a dense area.

Stick the basics here...your assumptions and selective ideas don't prove your point. They can be used to prove both of our points....so let's not bother.

Property values are determined by a provincial agency. If people in the suburbs don't like the fact that their homes are worth more than inner city homes, perhaps they can begin selling their homes for 75% of the usual price as a means of convincing MPAC that their assessments should be lowered. Good luck getting that petition going.

Tax rates are the only stat worth discussing here.
When we look at crime stats we don't look at overall number of crimes committed now compared with 10 years ago. there are too many variables. We look at the rate per 1,000 people or some other basic method of coming up with a realistic answer. You're simply wasting a lot of time here skirting the real issue staring at you - the OLD city of Hamilton pays MORE taxes than the suburbs. Taxes are supposed to reflect the value of services and the value of said property. With identical services offered in the entire area of the city with transit, it would make sense that the higher tax rates should be in the suburban areas to reflect the higher property values. The service levels are the same, so they should cancel each other out. Yet the lowest property values in the poorest areas are paying a higher tax rate than the richer areas. If the second part of the equation is tax rates as a result of property values then old city residents are really getting screwed.