So, you don't think you'll find the time to vote tomorrow? Well, you certainly won't be alone given two out of every three eligible Delta voters didn't cast a ballot in the last civic election.
Maybe it's the lack of a mayor's race that will keep you at home this time around. Perhaps you're happy with the way things are or figure it doesn't matter who gets elected because politicians are all the same.
Whatever your hollow justification might be for not finding 15 minutes in your day to vote, remember that although you may not want to help decide what happens at municipal hall (or school board), those institutions decide what happens to you and your money.
Barry Link, the editor of our sister paper, the Vancouver Courier, put together a great piece on the need to get out and vote to ensure you have a say in how your tax dollars are spent. Below is an abbreviated version modified for Delta purposes.
If you own property in Delta, you pay taxes to civic government, including to the school district. You don't have a choice. If you're a renter, you're paying your landlord's property taxes. Depending on the value of the property, that adds up to hundreds or thousands of dollars a year.
Look out your door or window to the street. That street, the sidewalks, the sewers and water lines running underneath it are all built by the municipality using your money. In fact, infrastructure like roads and sewers takes up the bulk of civic spending. They're expensive and difficult to create, but they make places livable thanks to the taxes you pay.
See the person walking their dog? They pay the municipality for the licence required to own that dog. That licence is an example of the many fees you and your neighbours pay for various services, from putting on events to approval of renovations in your home.
Watch the police car drive by. That vehicle, the officers inside it and all their equipment are paid for by the municipality. How much they earn, where they patrol and their enforcement priorities are set by a police board chaired by the mayor. All with your money.
The fire hall down the street is also run by the municipality. Their ability to respond to your home for a fire or medical emergency depends on your taxes. Walk by a school. Your money helped build that school. It also pays for the salaries of the teachers and staff who watch over those young minds each day.
Are you getting your money's worth? Only your vote can answer that one.
