Letter Posted In Cambridge Today – Dec 1, 2024 ‘Our property taxes are rising at two to three times inflation each year in large part to pay for these outrageous municipal wage increases,’ writes reader John B. Waylett. CambridgeToday received the following letter about the need to cut the 2025 regional budget. I am writing…

Article Published Nov 22, 2024, in the Waterloo Record Surely, we could legislate standardized financial reporting from one municipality to the next, so the increases in Cambridge are directly comparable to those in Chatham, writes Mike Farwell. The “strong-mayor budget” in Cambridge is not what it seems, and that raises a number of concerns. In…

To all members of Tiny Township council and CAO Lamb: Planning for success or failure in Tiny Township by Dr. David Jones I recently watched a YouTube video dealing with 5 or 6 questions to ask someone on a first date. The goal, of course, was for the couple to get to know each other…

The 2025 Proposed Budget (Budget) was prepared by mayor Jan Liggett working with City management. It was developed using “strong mayor powers”, granted to mayors by the Province of Ontario. The budget has Cambridge municipal employment growing significantly in 2025. The number of City workers will have grown by ~7.2% from 2024 through 2025. That’s…

‘Statement that Cambridge’s 2024 residential property tax increase of 7.17 per cent was less than inflation because it represented a 2.58 per cent increase to the total tax bill, when inflation was running at 3.4 per cent, was misleading and incorrect,’ Property Taxpayers Alliance says CambridgeToday received the following Letter to the Editor from John…

The city website states that Mayor (Jan) Liggett will be leading the 2025 Budget and Business Plan process. In the release, Mayor Liggett was quoted as saying “I have invited council members to share feedback and ideas directly as they are hearing it from their communities, and to meet with me individually to create a…

Region of Waterloo to spend $150K on artwork for affordable housing buildings. I guess Region of Waterloo councillors and administration want this complex to stand out like a sore thumb. Have these people even considered the possibility that those who will be occupying these units might not appreciate the artwork? It seems that the region…

Attendees should not be required to fund a charity of the mayor’s choice, writes reader Rande Keffer of the Property Taxpayers Alliance. Posted in Cambridge Times August 22, 2024 I am writing on behalf of the Property Taxpayers Alliance (PTA) about the article “Mayor’s State of the City Address will be at soccer complex” published Aug. 21…

Dear Editor,I am writing you on behalf of the Property Taxpayers Alliance (www.propertytaxpayer.ca). The Federal, Provincial, and Region of Waterloo governments, are all contributors to the homelessness problem. It’s surprising that this topic never comes up in the media. After years of provincial government “rent controls”, it was no surprise that investment in building new…

On Tuesday, June 18th, John Waylett, Chair & CEO of the Property Taxpayers Alliance (PTA), was interviewed by City News talk show host Mike Farwell. The talk focuses in on the recent and outrageous 3 to 5 times inflation (8% to 13%) property tax increases being proposed by the Regional and Cambridge Municipal Governments for…