2011 Annual Financial Statements

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City of Nanaimo

2011 Annual Financial Statements

Available Online To View Click HERE

The Financial Statements for 2011 are now available on the city website which you can find by clicking the link above or the graphic.

If you want to see how your hard earned tax dollars are being spent, grab a coffee and curl up in your favourite chair and read through this report. Don't let the pages and pages of information turn you off, just slowly read it through as if you were assessing your own household budget. Of course the numbers are bigger but basically the same principle applies, you have income and you have expenses. The difference of course is that when your income no longer equals your expenses you can not just 'assess' your boss with a raise sufficient to cover your spending, unlike the way the city operates. If their expenses exceed their income, they simply increase their income by jacking up your taxes.

This current council seems totally unable to control spending, in fact, they chose to add another $700,000 to the current five year financial plan in a rare move that went against the advice of city manager Mr. Al Kenning. Incidentally, Mr. Kenning did support spending $120,000 to have a strategic plan done since it would be impossible to structure an organization and establish spending priorities without one. Mr. Kenning does not explain how he has structured the organization and established spending priorities these past years without one.

I sometimes get the impression from observing City Council that rather than actually reading through all the reports presented by staff, they simply ask staff for the Cliffs notes and pretty much agree with whatever staff recommends. 

A Couple Of Highlights From The Statement

69.2% of Tax Revenue Pays Wages & Pension

Revenue from taxation increased from $80,761,023.00 in 2010 to $83,876,786.00 in 2012 for a total increase of $3,115,763.00. Wages and salaries increased from $52,373,548.00 in 2010 to $54,376,323.00 in 2012 for an increase of $2,002,775.00 which represents about 66% of the total tax revenue increase.

The taxpayers of Nanaimo contributed $3,735,812.00 in 2011 which is up $245,887.00 from 2010 when the contribution was $3,489,925.00 to the pension plan.

If you combine the total for wages and salaries with pension contributions the total is a staggering $58,112,135.00 which represents 69.2% of all revenue collected from taxation!

Since 2008 there is a new economic reality in the land which has resulted in all mere mortals having to watch their spending, this reality does not seem to have risen to the occupants of the ivory towers on Wallace Street where it is spend as usual and in fact, look for more creative ways to increase taxes.

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