April is supposed to be the cruelest month, but for local taxpayers, it might just be July.
Not only are local taxes are due, it's also the time when municipalities must file reports detailing major spending for the past year, including municipal salaries.
Defining exactly what is a local government-funded salary is far from straightforward. The bottom line, however, is there is still only one taxpayer and salary costs continue to rise - both individually and collectively.
And aside from general angst over "spending," nothing gets citizens worked up faster than fat-cat payrolls.
Numbers of those earning more than $100,000 - who probably won't be the ones fixing that busted water main or sewer pipe - have tripled in the last few years. But it's unlikely many taxpayers have seen their incomes increase at anything like the rates that senior municipal managers have enjoyed.
Politicians argue they have to pay those salaries, because if they don't, their key people will be lured away to other positions. Unfortunately, there seems little spirit of co-operation among Lower Mainland municipalities in halting the gravy train.
While that reality lurks in the background, most politicians would rather not apply the salary brakes and risk the costs and hassle of losing and having to replace key staffers.
Politicians' willingness to take on such issues has much to do with their citizens' responses - whether they're outraged, couldn't care less or something in between.
An election year seems like a perfect opportunity to tell them.
