There is pushback from a city councillor on the process of how the city authorizes special area levies.
On The Newsfeed with Kristy Cameron, Rideau-Goulbourn Councillor Scott Moffatt says after watching the process of a levy being issued to the Kanata North ward this past summer for its mosquito problem, he saw many residents being forced to pay for something that didn't affect them.
"Let's be honest. All of Kanata North doesn't benefit from that one project. It's an isolated project. So, maybe a smaller area has to pay for it."
Moffatt says the way the special tax is issued is flawed.
"Imagine if I wanted to get something done in Richmond, Manotick, or North Gower, and I applied a ward-wide special area levy. My ward is 744 square kilometers. So, I would have people paying for something that would be half an hour away from where the benefit is. They would have no benefit. Yet I'd make them pay, because that would make it easier for me from a financial perspective?"
Moffatt says either that scope of people paying needs to be smaller, or he wants more public consultation to be done ahead of issuing the special tax.