Originally Posted By: Danno
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House of cards time for pretty well every city in North America. Just look at Dallas as an example.
Our municipality has a population base of 160,000, yet has a budget of $600 million per year. And only $38 million is spent on road upkeep as an example.
You ask the average citizen how much the annual spend of the city is, and they guess $50 million. I tell them the real number and you get a blank stare - they cannot comprehend it.
Just crazy.
Interesting, my city (pop 220,000) has an annual budget of $C 482 million ($US 362 million). They collect garbage, have a very extensive public library system, and in general offer many amenities to the citizens. Currently building two bridges (seven existing) across a relatively wide river (bridges average ¼ mile across).
Municipalities in Canada cannot levy any taxes beyond property taxes*; the median** tax bill is $C 2200/yr ($US 1650). Quite a contrast.
* The Property Tax includes Education, it's roughly 50:50 City and Public School.
** The point where half pay less and half pay more. The median home assessment is $C 325,000 ($US 243,000).