Amalgamation

[ookpik]

Still boggles my mind that Waterloo residents pay a bigger burden for regional taxes (53%) versus Kitchener (49%), which (some of the revenue) helps pay for two hospitals that aren't even in their city.

One of them is essentially on the border line. In any case those who work in them live throughout the region.

A similar argument could be said for universities. Waterloo has two, while Kitchener and Cambridge have none apart from a few small satellite campuses. Also for research institutes like PI and CIGI. Granted that hospitals and universities are funded on different models and don't provide equivalent services (e.g. hospitals are essential, universities less so.) But arguably the universities attract high-income, skilled workers, generate a larger property tax base and create demand for higher-end city amenities. 

You could also argue that more of Waterloo will be served by LRT than Kitchener. (Cue Cambridge mayor Craig for the usual violin cadenza...)

And then there are the folks who live in the townships who, no matter how much or little they pay into the region, get second class services like ambulances that take twice as long to get them to hospital.

P.S. There's also an inequality between the property taxes assessed on houses and apartments with the latter paying disproportionally more.