In our valley, we face a growing problem. While everyone uses town services, only a small percentage of the population are paying for them, leaving the rest of us with higher property taxes and service fees. The new draft budget shows smaller increases than before, which is welcomed, but for homeowners already struggling to pay bills, any increase is too much.
Whith fewer residents paying their fair share, those who do pay end up covering costs for everyone else. This isn’t just unfair – it can’t last. As more people stop paying, those who continue to pay face even bigger bills. And with the Drakenstein Municipality blowing their own trumpet about the property boom in the valley, they are keeping very much quiet on the unaudited influx of informal people from elsewhere in the country, who are putting an even bigger burden on the valley’s resources.
Town officials often talk about “only” raising rates by a few percent. But they forget that these increases add up year after year, while many people’s incomes aren’t growing. For families already cutting back on essentials, even a small tax increase can push them over the edge.
We need better solutions for balancing out the financial strain residents have carrying a large part of the community.
Everyone benefits from clean water, electricity, rubbish pickup and safer streets. But everyone should help to pay for these services. While we should help those truly in need, a culture where many simply don’t pay hurts us all.
The question isn’t whether we need these services – it’s how we can all fairly pay for them.
