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On Monday, Saint John's new council delivered another sound decision - one that will bring the city a step closer to dealing with unacceptably high taxes.

Acting on a proposal by Coun. Chris Titus, a majority of councillors agreed to commission an independent review of the city's finances. The review will be conducted by Harry Kitchen and Dr. Enid Slack, two of the foremost authorities on municipal tax policy in Canada. If they can give council a sense of what the city's options are, it will be $25,000 well spent.

Since May, Coun. Titus has been trying to encourage council to get serious about taxes. During the municipal election campaign, he proposed that council hire outside experts to assess the city's finances and offer advice on how to bring the tax rate down as property assessments rise. This would ensure the bite taken out of taxpayers' wallets doesn't get any bigger in real terms.

Mayor Ivan Court, Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase and councillors Bruce Court and Patti Higgins voted to table the issue; the majority of councillors voted to endorse it. With this vote, Saint John's new council has signalled it is determined to find a way to give residents a break from rising property tax bills.

In September, provincial commissioner Jean-Guy Finn will release his recommendations on changing municipal governance and taxation. If the city assesses its finances and the impact of rising assessments, council will be in a good position to make an intelligent response - one that protects taxpayers and city services.