Every Tax Increase must Demonstrate Value?

That could mean requiring every major budget increase to answer five questions:

1. What problem are we solving?

2. How much will it cost taxpayers?

3. What measurable improvement will residents see?

4. What happens if we don't do it?

5. How will Council measure whether it worked?

I am proposing creating a "Value for Taxpayers" dashboard

For example:

• Cost per kilometre of road maintained

• Average pothole repair time

• Snow-clearing completion time

• Transit reliability

• Fire-response performance

• Recreation-centre utilization

• Library usage

• Development-approval timelines

• Infrastructure backlog

• Municipal employees per 1,000 residents

• Administrative cost per resident

• Capital-project budget vs. actual cost

• Property-tax dollars spent per household

I support investing in Kitchener but residents deserve to know what they are getting for every additional dollar.

My commitment is not simply to lower taxes, it is to deliver better value for the taxes we collect.