The District of Muskoka budget has now set in stone that residents will be paying 4 per cent more on the district portion of their tax bill this year.

A portion of that increase, about 1.5 per cent, will go toward paying down part of the district’s $106-million debt.

Given recent discussions on the origins of this figure, it is clear the district needs to figure out a uniform system to ratepayers for services that aren’t uniformly used across Muskoka.

Councillors have floated the idea of extending municipal servicing costs to rural residents to ease the debt load.

This idea, it seems, has now spilled over into the solid waste budget.

Should all residents help out with the cost of the new kitchen organics program, even though it is only being offered in Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and Huntsville? Or does the composting program represent just one more shift of the tax load onto rural and waterfront homeowners?

The answer to that question will continue to be the subject of much debate.

In the meantime, we can’t help but find the humour in Monday’s quibbling over garbage pickup costs.

While councillors are ready to slice up the expense of solid waste disposal so no one town or township is burdened with undue costs, some of them are pushing harder than ever to make everyone, everywhere, pay for Muskoka’s debt for water and sewer.

They can’t have it both ways.

In a rural municipality like Muskoka, where urban areas are scattered, and the demand for services is high, the question of how to appropriately tax residents is tough indeed.

Councillors need to come up with some better reasons as to why we should all chip in. Their present justifications for why Muskoka should raise taxes are becoming more and more difficult to swallow.

KF