Of course there is absolutely no reason to justify a tax increase.

This has the garbage writing style of Lefty Lou Brancaccio all over it.

The main problem with unwarranted tax increases is just that: they're unwarranted.

Has Vancouver cut wages?  Have they cut benefits?  Have they cut enough people?  Do those actions (or lack of actions) mirror the private sector?  Do they have a pay freeze in place?

If the answer to any of those questions is "no," then there is precisely zero justification for a tax increase.

That such a tax increase might be small does not justify it: the clown who wrote this garbage seems to be unaware that EVERYONE in government, at EVERY level wants not only tax increases based on percentage value, but also fee increases based on dollar amounts.

The idea that an ever-increasing PERCENTAGE of what we make is being siphoned off to be wasted on a bloated, over-charging government bureaucracy with horrifically expensive benefits and retirement that are far beyond that experienced here in the private sector never seems to seep into the minds of the leftist writers of these fantasies.

This garbage builds up like lead poison.  So, to the idiot who wrote this trash, I say "save your lies for the morons."

Because here's the thing: if this tax increase is NOT "big stuff," then the scum whining for it don't need it.

The idiot who wrote this garbage even DOCUMENTS the waste on the public sector payroll for BOTH hourly wage AND benefits... and then fails to see the connection between those abysmal numbers and opposing giving these same scum even MORE!

That the simple minded idiot who wrote this chooses to fail to demand that the city make more cuts... freeze pay and benefits and allow currently unfilled jobs to remain that way, not too mention reducing the number of filled positions through either additional layoffs or attrition... as the primary method to fund anything they want shows either a blind type of ignorance or a true leftist bent, where no percentage of our money for their programs is ever enough.

A true voice of the people newspaper would not start from a position that a tax increase is a good thing, and work their way back from there, as this rag typically does.  In fact, a voice of the people would start from the opposition side of the spectrum, and view all tax increases as unnecessary unless everything else that CAN be done first, HAS been done first.

And this paragraph, provided by the brain-damaged gnome who wrote the "propatorial" in the rag today proves that such is NOT the case:

Times have been tough for everybody, in both the public and private sectors, but a 2012 study by Portland State University's Center for Public Service demonstrated that public employees on average are more expensive than those found in private industry. The study, which used data from 21 municipal governments in Oregon and Southwest Washington and included Vancouver and Clark County, found that for each hour a public employee works, the true personnel costs equal approximately twice the rate of salary. Also in 2012, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that private-industry employees cost an average of $28.80 an hour in total compensation, while state and local government employees cost an average of $41.10 per hour.

How anyone could POSSIBLY write this paragraph and then go on to completely ignore it while telling us that taking MORE of OUR money for these greedy slime is astounding... but it's the kind of thing the democratian does on a regular basis... to their ever-lasting shame.

And no, I didn't miss the irony of the Lazy C quoting those they hate in an effort to justify the unjustifiable:

That being said, the city's proposed increase in property taxes appears to be reasonable. Councilor Jeanne Stewart pointed out that the hike would provide money for firefighter positions that currently are covered by grants set to expire next year.

Cutting wages would provide money for firefighter positions.  Cutting benefits would provide money for firefighter positions.  Cutting retirement would provide money for firefighter positions.
 
Then, stupido goes on to tell us:

If Vancouver does approve such a hike and does, indeed, use the additional money to maintain services in the realm of public safety, then a small increase in the property tax levy will help make the city a better place to live.

The only thing that would make the Vancouver Soviet a "better place to live" would be closing down the local version of Pravda Izvestia and cleaning out the entirety of city hall.

That the writer claims Vancouver has made cuts isn't the question: the question is this:  Have they done enough?

The answer is clearly "no."  And the answer MUST be "yes" before that discussion can even begin, let alone actually be implemented.