Harry Shannon
The Hamilton (Ontario) City Council recently approved a proposal for what to do with parking tickets leading up to Christmas. Instead of paying the fine, offenders could donate a toy worth at least as much. They toys will be passed on to needy families by the United Way.
A columnist with the Hamilton Spectator, Scott Radley, reported this and suggested the principle could be extended. His idea: take part of municipal property tax and allow the payer to direct that amount to an area (or areas) of the city’s budget they think is most important.
He went on: “What better way for city hall to get a true reading of what’s important to the residents and what isn’t?” My letter in response appeared in the paper a few days later:
