We often hear municipal governments complaining they only receive eight cents of every tax dollar. So instead of looking for places to save money, some municipalities, like Vancouver, use the threat of cuts to core services such as policing to scare citizens into accepting ever increasing property taxes to cover revenue shortfalls. At the same time, municipal politicians fail to mention the billions of dollars municipalities across Canada receive from the federal and provincial governments. Municipal politicians use this lack of disclosure to bolster their demand for higher taxation. It's time to demand transparency from municipal governments and limit municipal claims on our tax dollars.

The city of Vancouver sends out a survey each year asking people about their service priorities. The city's 2007 budget pullout box dramatically highlights "what happens if city services are cut " The first item highlighted is public safety and cuts to police and firefighters. This is a scare tactic.

Policing is a core municipal function and ratepayers rightly expect protective services from their local government. Police forces are getting bigger and so are their budgets, so why the spin In 2006, the crime rate fell to its lowest level in 30 years. In fact, the BC Progress Board reports that for crime to fall further, B.C. needs to work on the primary causes of crime and criminality. It doesn't mention the need for more police but does recommend a review of police activities to determine whether law enforcement dollars are being spent efficiently.

Only the District of North Vancouver spends more per resident ($121) on protective services than Vancouver ($108). Surrey meanwhile, was spending only $29 per resident yet was making measurable progress. The "car theft capital of North America" reported 5,500 stolen vehicles in 2003. By 2006, vehicle theft had fallen to 2,900 in Surrey - 47 per cent decline and the biggest in the Lower Mainland. Surrey will be spending more on police next year but it will be spending even greater sums on a fancy multiplex centre. So although Surrey's per resident spending will probably go up, cities like Vancouver might consider efficiencies and smart spending on core protective services that cities like Surrey were clearly exercising.

Since 1990, municipalities across Canada have received over $20 billion from federal and provincial governments. B.C. municipalities can access over 50 different grant programs. For example, since 2003 the province has contributed about $170 million to municipalities for policing under the Traffic Fine Revenue Sharing Grant Program. The number of police officers in Surrey rose by 36% between 2003 and 2007, but only by 9.5% in Vancouver. Once again, we see how some municipalities are, or at least were, more efficient than others.

Instead of trying to scare people into agreeing to higher property taxes, municipalities need to spend more efficiently. A lack of disclosure about just how some services are financed skews the decision-making process toward higher spending, because ratepayers are getting a higher level of service than what they are paying for. Without limits, municipal politicians will continue to lose focus on core spending priorities and saddle ratepayers with the effects of their desire for prestige projects. Provincial governments must rein in the activities of municipal politicians, limit municipal claims on tax dollars, and improve municipal accountability.