Thank God for Property Taxes

Here's an OPED I wrote for the Calgary Herald last weekend:

As I was driving downtown to pick my son up from his day program, I stopped at a light and noticed a brand-new Calgary Fire Department vehicle idling beside me. Having just paid my property taxes the day before I imagined what part of that vehicle I paid for—a hinge on the side door? A nut on one of the tires? Or maybe some unseen part the ignition system?

For a few seconds I felt thankful for this crucial city service that brings peace of mind to most of us and crucial emergency assistance to those in trauma.

As I continued toward the city centre, I passed a Calgary Transit Access bus and smiled. For fifteen years Access Calgary has delivered my son (who has Down syndrome) to and from his volunteer work placements. Our family could not have made things work without their support.

A few minutes later I passed a piece of urban art and realized that my tax dollars, via Calgary Arts Development, played a small part in bringing this thought-provoking piece into being as well. And what about the roads I was driving on, and the traffic lights that kept everything running smoothly? I couldn’t help but feel thankful for all the people who work in road maintenance, traffic management, and at Enmax, as I glided through a series of perfectly synched green lights.

The list kept growing: a Calgary Police Service vehicle keeping things safe and in order, a public library stewarding communal knowledge, and a city hall filled with public servants working for the common good—urban planners, parking authorities, recreation centre staffers, garbage, recycling, and composting services, city counsellors, and our new mayor.

As I added all of this up, I was filled with gratitude. To think that we get all of this while living in a city that is nestled next to the Rocky Mountains, in one of the most beautiful and well-resourced provinces in Canada!

While some of us may be griping about the increase in provincial taxes this year, I’m still very thankful for the new, provincially funded, ring road that has provided all kinds of vehicular freedom and brought everything so much closer.

Even though I’m frustrated with provincial politics right now, I continue to be thankful for provincially funded teachers and schools, healthcare workers and hospitals, and for those who work in social services to care for the most vulnerable Albertans. Even with the strains these community services are currently under, I don’t want to lose sight of the fact that they even exist at all. Our education system consistently ranks high, our healthcare is still mostly free, and I trust we’ll find a way to provide social services that is fair and equitable.

Most years I grumble about paying my property taxes, but this year I feel thankful for everything they fund. Where would we be without all that they pay for?

And one last thing—city parks! Over the past two weeks my family has visited four city parks: the Weaselhead with its ever-changing Elbow River-shaped landscape, Bowness Park as it was packed with picnicking families, walkers, and joggers, the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary which was swirling with avian glory, and Griffith Woods Park, a new park for us—where we actually heard a loon call and then we saw it.

Thinking back on that Griffith Woods visit, I remember how well-kept the pathways were, and how some paths were restricted for restorative work, or to keep us from trespassing on Tsuu-tina lands. In areas that were prone to overland flooding there were boardwalks, and where the Elbow River had created small ponds or creeks, there were short paths to the water’s edge.

It now occurs to me that someone curated all of this, they did all of the preparatory work for us, our path was planned so that we could safely explore this beautiful spruce and poplar forest in comfort.

As we returned to our car, we stopped to talk with two city workers who were standing behind a foldout table filled with information on all of the indigenous plants, bees, and forest animals that call Griffith Woods home.

These two city workers, whose salaries were paid in part by my property taxes, were a beautiful symbol of all that is good in Calgary—young, bright, and eager to make our city a better place!