TinyTRA Member Perspective: Time for Transparency and Tax Relief in Tiny Township

In a January 16th Midland Today letter to the editor, I raised serious concerns about Tiny Township Council’s first multi-year budget—a two-year operating plan and a five-year capital plan that, quite frankly, left much to be desired.

Council directed staff to return with a revised budget targeting a 7% municipal tax increase, to be approved in January. To meet that goal, staff made a few adjustments and proposed using $188,361 from the estimated 2024 surplus. At the time, I cautioned that based on over a decade of watching budget proceedings, the final surplus would likely be far greater—and that every dollar of it should be used to lower the 2025 tax rate.

As it turns out, I was right.

A Corporate Services report prepared for an upcoming Committee of the Whole meeting confirms a 2024 year-end surplus of $1.342 million:

· $750,000 from Operations

· $592,000 from Capital

Surpluses of this size aren’t new—they’ve occurred every year for the past 12 years. This strongly suggests that Tiny residents are consistently overtaxed. And in a year when many families are facing recession pressures, job insecurity, and rising costs, that’s unacceptable.

This raises several serious questions for Council and staff:

• · Have residents experienced any service reductions in 2024 that would explain this underspending?

• ·Why were so many projects deferred or left incomplete despite funds being collected?

• ·Can staff realistically deliver all 2025 projects plus those carried over from 2024?

• ·Why is Council rushing to approve budgets before the actuals from the previous year are known?

• ·Why wasn’t the full extent of the surplus known earlier?

• ·Why was the 2025 tax rate publicly announced before these facts were considered?

According to staff, every 1% increase in the tax rate brings in approximately $172,152 in revenue. If we subtract the originally anticipated surplus from the actual total:

$1,342,000 - $188,361 = $1,153,639 / $172,152 ≈ 6.7%

In other words, the full 2025 tax increase of 6.99% could be eliminated entirely by using this unspent surplus. That follows an already steep 8.19% increase in 2024.

Instead, staff presented Council with three options:

1. Use leftover surplus to top up reserves. Keep the tax hike at 6.99%. (Staff’s preferred option.)

2. Adjust capital reserve transfers, keeping the tax hike at 6.99%.

3. Slightly reduce the tax increase to 6.52% using a portion of the surplus.

None of the options propose significant tax relief—even though the budget already includes a cost-of-living increase and a consultant review of staff salaries.

Let’s be clear: with a surplus of this size, the 2025 tax rate can—and should—be lowered to reflect no more than the 2.3% cost of living increase. Anything else is a slap in the face to Tiny taxpayers who expect responsible stewardship of their money.

For those of us in the Tiny Township Residents' Alliance, this is yet another example of why we need greater transparency, fiscal accountability, and citizen involvement in budget decisions. Residents deserve better—and we’re here to ensure their voices are heard.

Chuck Stradling Member, Tiny Township Residents' Alliance
Long-time Tiny Resident and Council Watcher