If you pay residential or business property taxes in Red Deer you have a new voice. We have formed the Red Deer Taxpayers’ Association to advocate for more economic and efficient use of your hard-earned taxpayer dollars.

Your Association is concerned with waste of taxpayer dollars. City spending on operations has more than doubled (closer to tripled) in less than 10 years, from $90 million in 2003 to $228 million in 2012 (that’s 153%)! This far exceeds combined population and inflation growth in the City during this period (only 50%). This unrestrained spending growth translates into hundreds of millions of dollars of additional property taxes and charges assessed to, and paid by, City taxpayers over this period. We can do much better.

If you are interested in supporting our goals, we invite you to join (membership is free) and/or donate to your Association. Further, there are a few other simple things we would really appreciate you helping us with:

1. Visit us at our web site at www.reddeertaxpayers.ca for more issues and recommendations on the City’s fiscal stewardship of your tax dollars and share this information with your friends;

2. Visit us on facebook at www.facebook.com/reddeertaxpayersassociation, like us, follow us and tell your friends about us.

Red Deer is a great place for individuals, families and businesses. If our City uses our hard earned taxpayer dollars in an economic and efficient manner, our City can be even greater.

Jason Stephan

President, Red Deer Taxpayers’ Association