An information report will be presented to Sarnia council Monday, detailing the advantages and disadvantages of the current transit area for taxation revenue.
A financial analysis to levy all properties in Sarnia to support the service was also done.
"Back in 2003, the council of the day said that we should continue to have an area of the city where sewer and transit charges would not apply, because we can not offer the services there," says Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley. "Basically, in the transit area case, it's the rural part of the city in the former town of Clearwater."
Bradley says if a proposal was to move forward to expand that area, everyone in the city would pay for transit.
"Fundamentally, I believe it's not fair in that area because we can not provide the service to them. If we decide to put the transit area across the entire city, I can see demands coming forward to provide transit to the rural area -- which just doesn't make a lot of sense. That's why the fee wasn't imposed in the past."
Bradley says rural areas are already struggling with very heavy taxation due to the province's assessment system.
"If this is to move forward, it certainly needs a full public debate because what it's doing is applying a tax on people that weren't taxed -- for a service they can't get, which is transit. I would suspect if this moves forward, then the next thing we'll need to deal with is the sewer area, which means again, taxing this area when they can not receive the service."
In her report, Finance Director Lisa Armstrong says if council wishes to change the method of taxation associated with transit in the 2018 budget, a decision needs to be finalized by June.
