Debt Free City
// February 8th, 2010 // 93 Comments » // Amusing, Video
You are going to love this story! A debt free city and 700Mil in cash reserves. That is as much as the State of Oklahoma has in their rainy day fund.
Their secret? Low taxes, jobs jobs jobs, and a mayor that is 88 years old and has the energy of a spring chicken!
Mississauga, Ontario isn’t just your normal metro. They have done what most people would call the impossible. A city of no debt and plenty of cash for the grandkids to live on. Mississauga has set an example for cities around the world. They are the Canada headquarters for companies like Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Pepsico, General Electric, Fujitsu and Wal-Mart Canada.
Responsible financial management coupled with forward planning policies has resulted in the City’s debt-free status, with hundreds of millions in reserve funds for future infrastructure development. -Taxes & Assessment
Note that they assess property taxes based on need and not on value of the property. I really like this concept from a property rights perspective plus there isn’t a built-in disincentive to keep your property, well, worth’less’.
The total amount of taxes collected depends on the municipality’s revenue needs, and not on the value of property assessments within a municipality. -Taxes & Assessment
I also really like the fact that municipalities can’t offer businesses direct incentives like tax breaks and loans. This probably causes the city to stand on its broad based incentives like low taxes, crime rates, transit, and aesthetics.
The City operates on the philosophy that new development should pay for itself. Funds collected are placed in reserve to pay for capital improvements needed in the future. -Taxes & Assessment
Good stuff.
Enjoy this report and let me hear your thoughts.
