A last-minute addition to our list of #1′s

ERIC MCMILLAN, Editor-in-Chief

In this issue of Vaughan Today, we are focusing on the areas in which this city excels. We’ve compiled a list of of some of the ways in which Vaughan is the best in the region, country, and perhaps the world.

But also in this issue, we report on the city’s tax outlook — namely, an increase this year of under 3 percent. This is comparable to what that other municipality to our south has determined for its property owners.

But what a difference in getting to this point. Toronto has gone through a year of turmoil and rancorous debate. Services and social programs have been threatened, and some actually cut. The demands of delegations and demonstrations have become a daily part of political life, along with equally boisterous denunciations.

Around the world, in fact, 2011  was marked by protests over cutbacks and political posturing over the purported need for governments to radically reduce spending.

But here in Vaughan, where past experience would lead one to expect the most political opposition, the budget appears to have been arrived at in relative peace, sticking to modest increases in line with inflation and without massive cuts in any programs people care about.

Part of the explanation has to be that young and booming Vaughan has a continually explanding tax base to keep paying for its future.

This won’t always be the case, but for now it helps make us almost unique in a way that isn’t listed in our main feature this month.