https://www.acrd.bc.ca/cms.asp?wpID=aap
This is being funded based on your property’s assessed value. That means the averageTofino home will pay way more than the average Ucluelet home. Why not just have a fixed annual fee that is the same for all ? Please vote against this unfair funding proposal .
36 comments:
Port Alberni is a much larger place and they have buses running around empty. Why would this area be any different? It is an insane use of taxpayers money.
Here we have a Mayor and council supposedly wanting to do green things encouraging a bus that will not be used and run around empty since it will take an estimated if you are lucky, 70 minutes to go from one town to the other. That travel time does not include the time you'd have to stand around waiting for it to come to pick you up during which you could stick out your thumb and get a ride with someone for free and arrive at your destination before the bus was going to pick you up arrived.
The town is crying for affordable housing so what better way to make affordable housing less affordable than to tax property owners. The very people who might offer housing you are going to tax more?
We have new homeowners just scraping by, earning just enough to afford to raise kids and pay their mortgages and then you hit them with another 2.4% tax on their assessed values.
We have many retired people in the community who struggle as it is to make the payments on their existing property taxes plus the new 2.4% and still have enough to eat.
We have young people here for a short while and working to save money who do not have the extra 2.4% that will inevitably be worked into their rent despite supposed rent freezes. Any new accommodations brought onto the market will have their rents jacked up to cover that 2.4% increase and to make up for the provincial rental rate freeze.
It is such clear insanity to propose this that it should make everyone wonder who they elected and should they really be there. This 2.4% tax for buses was never part of any announced platform that I heard about.
Let's make Tofino and Ucluelet more affordable by voting OPPOSE the 2.4% bus tax.
So if you have a nice house in Ucluelet you could pay two or three times the amount as somebody in a shitbox across the street ? Not fair !!
Sewer treatment ? Check
Affordable housing ? Check
Transit System ? Check
Resume updated for jump to a higher office ? Check
Yes Ralph, possible check mark on the sewer plant.
The currently designed affordable housing does not look like it is going to be affordable.
Hoping the transit is a full fail.
Not that we wouldn't like an amenity like a bus but the problem is paying for it.
The taxpayers in Tofino are tapped out. Our wallets are empty from paying for the new sewer system.
Worse yet is the elephant in the room nobody seems to be concerned with and that is paying for an increased water supply beyond the planned doubling of the Ahkmahksis reservoir capacity paid for by reserves. If reserves are not sufficient more borrowing will follow.
According to Committee of the Whole agenda Nov.4th we have 27Million dollars of borrowing capacity. 16 Million dollars was been allocated to the WWTP. 3 Million to an indoor Recreation facility (after a 7Million dollar grant from somewhere) leaving us with a borrowing capacity of about 8 Million to pay for additional new water supplies. Nowhere on that agenda was there any mention of the borrowing required to obtain that water probably from Kennedy Lake.
We need more water than the doubled reservoir because we have already allocated water to developments. I recall reading at one point a report that 34Litres of water per second are allocated and we have 17 litres of water a second being produced. Not until 2025 is there a forecast increase in water treatment capacity. Paid for by borrowing perhaps? Who knows what that is going to cost.
There is no cushion of water supply with the reopening of Pacific Rim Campground. We did not run out of water this past summer because a)it rained a bit b) Cermaq was not operating. Next summer we may not be so lucky.
We cannot afford additional expenses being put on the taxpayers. Oppose the bus.
Lots of things about the ACRD transit proposal are unfair:
-Tofino property owners will be hooked for the lions share of the cost, regardless of their actual ability to pay. This increase is additional to Tofino's property tax increase of 53%, already placed on the taxpayer's shoulders earlier this year.
-Many residents feel that the requirement for 602 oppose submissions is not valid. It's based on an inflated,"estimated", count of the local electors. It's claimed that there are 1670 electors in Tofino, while the voters list shows only 1422, many of whom are deceased or no longer live here. Ucluelet's numbers are likewise slanted. This results in a false requirement of about 40 oppose votes in just these two communities. Projected district wide, these inflated population "estimates" result in a false total of more than 800 persons. The people feel that they're playing in a "rigged" game.
-As you know, our mayor is an environmental champion. That's not seen so easily in this transit proposal. When transit officials were asked, at the open house, about the possibility of the bus being electric, the answer given was, "No, it'll be diesel". Electric buses are available, and can be leased, not purchased. So much for the environment, BC Transit has picked out diesel spewing monsters for you.
-Suggested fares have been pegged at $2.00! For a ride from Tofino to Ucluelet! That's practically free! A comparable ride in Vancouver is $5.75. A ride on Skytrain from downtown to YVR is $9.40, a comparable distance as Tofino to Ucluelet. With the projected $2 fare, riders will only pay $166,000, of the estimated $550,000 annual operating cost. A more reasonable $5 to $10 (we estimate $6.50) fare would cover the entire costs of operation, and would leave the taxpayers out of the equation.
- The ACRD proposal contains quite a few "if's", "maybe's", "not yet determined's" and other room for maneuvering before the service would be established. This includes a statement from our mayor that ridership numbers "should" determine if the service is maintained in the years to come...... but that's not in the by-law proposal, all we get is a verbal "should". Despite this lack of proper fiscal detail and the incomplete plan, the ACRD is ready to pass a bylaw, raise your taxes, and charge forward to establish this additional burden onto the backs of the local taxpayers.
- The proposed transit plan has been displayed as a great social leap forward for our communities. We're told that we should "think of others" and approve this plan. We're expected to believe that disagreement with the proposed plan equates to disagreement with the entire concept of local public transit and the lack of a social conscience . THIS IS NOT TRUE! Perhaps our elected leaders should "think of others" (including the taxpayers they were elected to represent), scrap this unfair and misconceived version of a plan, and go back to the drawing board to do it over again. Properly.
VOTE OPPOSE!! Fill out your oppose form and submit it to the ACRD before Friday Nov. 29th.
I was told by an ACRD guy at a meeting the operating costs were $750,000 per year. They were counting in the school kids in their ridership proposal. No kid is going to go to school if it takes them 70 minutes to get there. The school buses will continue to run so there goes a huge number of their calculated ridership. They will be running empty folks. VOTE OPPOSE.
The tourist sector loves the idea of subsidized buses, it is a moral issue of course. They look at "helping" the cheap labour pools that can jump on the bus for $2.00 a pop and come work in Tofino for minimum wage. Can't afford to house them in "Tuff". "We'll bus em in cheap and the stupid residents can pick up the costs". What a deal, because it is the moral thing to do. Right!
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Let us not forget the 'free' Summer Shuttle bus in Tofino which we all subsidize by spending District parking lot revenue on it that could instead be used to lower our taxes. It will still be running and with this spendthrift council supporting it, probably continue to be free.
That "free" summer shuttle is, indeed, free...... for those that ride on it. But a look at the annual budget of the thing and it's cost will shock you! I'll gather some real figures to share with you. I've seen them, but don't have access at this moment. Suffice to say, "It's outrageous!"
Regarding the Seasonal shuttle, here are the costs;
Total RMI funding $465,000.00
MRDT funding (if applicable) $20,000.00
Municipal funding $120,000.00 pay parking revenues
$45,000.00 community works fund
$15,000.00 taxation
Total Cost of Project $665,000.00
Sure seems like political grandstanding to have our elected director of science, after 15 years of expensive mumbley peg and baffle garb suddenly come up with the three prong success of sewage treatment!, affordable housing!, and public transportation!
All three items now! each a triumph onto itself........... Except public transportation
and the sewage treatment plant and affordable housing could have been done years ago at much less expense.
Yes so it does seem like somebody in our political system really needs these items to look like accomplishments no matter what.
And us taxpayers happily pay all of these costs. costs generated by an out of control tourism frenzy that our politicians Have allowed to push anything to do with community values out of the picture.
https://www.bcassessment.ca/Property/AssessmentSearch?bcalogin=1
search property values here, see how much they have gone up and how all these millionaires are complaining...
Seasonal Shuttle.....
excerpt from Committee of the Whole -04 Nov 2019 Agenda
Tofino Resort Development Strategy 2019-2021
from Manager of Public Spaces, Cultural and Visitor Initiatives
6.RMI Project Overview
- page 53 of 101 Project Title : Transportation Services
Total RMI funding $465,000.00
MRDT funding (if applicable) $20,000.00
Municipal funding $120,000.00 pay parking revenue
$45,000.00 community works fund, $15,000.00 taxation
Total Cost of Project $665,000.00
Really?? $665,000?? To operate a bus for 90 days? That's $7,388 per day!! I'll be generous and suppose that it made 24 trips per day.... that's $308 per trip! C'mon, that's ridiculous.
That does not include the $100,000 salary of the "Manager of Public Spaces, Cultural and Visitor Initiatives" , who I assume is directly responsible for this "project"
12;53 Are you being serious? . My property assessment has gone up for sure, but my taxes are rising at a faster rate . My taxes have gone way up.. My home which I bought for $300,00 is now supposed to be worth over a million, so they say, but I can't afford to live here anymore. My income hasn't gone up since retirement. I don't live or feel like a millionaire. I will have to sell out like so many, but I don't want to leave my home or my community. The realtors keep telling me I'm sitting on a fortune. They want a sale I guess. Someone may have made a bundle but it's not me, What is it going to cost me to live somewhere else? Why are so many leaving? I don't like it. I am being forced to move away to somewhere where I won't know anyone, and they won't know me. They tell me I can defer my taxes. but that's just borrowing money from the government. It all has to be paid back you know.
Now people like you, who are oversimplifying the situation, are targeting me as well. I don't like to say it, but to me, you seem bigoted and resentful.
re: 11:34. the district is really good at wasting our money.
I'm still trying to understand why it cost so much to operate the shuttle bus for 90 days.
So, I asked an unnamed local contractor how much it would cost to hire his big diesel gravel truck to drive around in circles all day. I figured that this would be a fair comparison, the truck is actually heavier than the bus and burns more fuel. The truck would cost $105.00 per hour, that's $1411 per 12 hr day, including tax. This includes the truck, fuel, and a professional licensed driver. A bus company should be able to supply a bus and driver for a comparable amount. 90 days ($126,990)
Next, insurance. Must be expensive, public passenger carrying vehicle, right? I was surprised, a local unnamed insurer told me it would be in the area of $300 per month, definately not over $400..... so, $10 per day. Lets be generous, $15 per day for insurance. 90 days($1,350)
What other expenses would there be? Print up some brochures? Put up a few cheap aluminum signs at the stops? Have someone sit down and organize a schedule? Again, lets be generous, and throw away $200 per day on these extras. ($18,000)
Now, lets be really generous with the taxpayers money, and throw in an extra $50,000 for anything I might have overlooked, but I cannot imagine what it might be. Truck, driver, fuel, insurance, misc sundry expenses, that should be it.
There, you now have a gravel truck operating! $1411 + $15 + $200= $1,626 per day, that's $146,340 for 90 days. Lets add the extra $50,000 that we're tossing in for..... whatever. We now have a total of $196,340. Round that off to $200,000. To run a gravel truck around in circles for 12 hours per day for 90 days.
Somehow, The District of Tofino managed to spend $665,000 doing this same thing with a bus, that I just did with a gravel truck for $200,000.
Where did the additional $465,000 go?
Well, perhaps that includes the cost of those couple extra pull-offs that were constructed at various points along the route? I don't know. I'd guess that might have cost, at most, $100,000.
$365,000. ?????? Please, can anyone explain this to me? I must be missing something. Right?
.......and, now, they want us to allow them to raise property taxes to supply them with funds to operate a bus. Honestly, I can't see how this can be justified. They don't seem to be very good at it.
NOTE!!! I have been corrected.::: "Hi Mike. Your assessment of the shuttle bus expense is off. It’s a three year budget, so divide your numbers by 3 for a yearly cost (and then daily cost). I brought this issue up at the CoW meeting (as a concerned resident). So, 60 grand a year comes from Tofino revenue -48 from pay parking and 12 from taxes. My point was that I think we should be putting that money toward transit. One reason that we cannot add that in now, is that BC Transit must apply using only tax numbers, and only after we’ve secured the service can we use other funding. So, once we get the transit, we can pay with MRDT and pay parking and grants."
So divide all my numbers by 3....... except for the $50,000 in "Extra" cash that I tossed in to be generous.
I believe that the shuttle could actually be operated for less than $150,000 per year, not the $220,000 in the District budget. Whichever total you choose, $60,000 still comes from the pockets of Tofino taxpayers.
OMG!! Rumor has it that the mayor involved Tofino into this ACRD bus proposal, and didn't even bother to get the approval of the rest of council before acting. Can this be true? Could be that tomorrow morning's council meeting (10:00AM) might draw quite a crowd. Maybe some political fireworks?? Drop by, witness history.
CORRECTION!! Tomorrow's council meeting is at 4:30 PM . 4:30PM
OMG!! Rumor has it that the mayor involved Tofino into this ACRD bus proposal, and didn't even bother to get the approval of the rest of council before acting. Can this be true? Could be that tomorrow's council meeting (4:30 PM) might draw quite a crowd. Maybe some political fireworks?? Drop by, witness history.
The mayor will likely prevent any discussion on this issue until after the November 29 deadline!
"No conversation about tax is easy - be it property tax, income tax, sales tax - especially when people are feeling stressed out." (Josie Osborne on Facebook, November 15, 2019)
Latest word on the street is that Mayor Josie will be speaking on Tuff City Radio 90.1FM on Wednesday morning at 10:00AM. , primarily on taxation related topics. A phone number will be given out where you can submit your questions to the mayor via text.
The radio interview just happened today, Tuesday.
And she said?
What do you expect her to say...There is no problem with taxes.. Spend as much as we can. It is all an investment in the future of Tofino. We don't even need a council. She has an answer for everything except that no one we know will be living here when she is done. Wake up people this place is going down the tube.
Whistlerization
Hey folks, this year Tofino could make it onto the Miriam-Webster Dictionary's list for new words of 2019!! Just yesterday, a new one got invented! The bus is no longer a dream, or a plan, or a want, or a step toward a seat in higher government. It's now, and henceforth into the future, to be known as "SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE" .... There ya go 7:12 PM, you asked what she said.
7:12 to 1:29 - Sounds like she's getting some PR advice
RE; the Mayor on the Radio
She also said some have the view that all taxes are bad, then sited some reference to Reagon from the 80's, then said taxes are actually an "investment in the future" By definition you can never, ever have too much of that, or can you? She obviously wants to position herself as a "progressive" by identifying her opposition as the far right. She must think that is a winning strategy. Divide and conquer.
I don't know what American politics has to do with it. If she wants to go there I won't
If you can't afford your taxes and have to sell out and move away or make other tough decisions to get by. Is that a left wing choice or a right wing choice. I say it is a sad choice and it is kinda shameful to politicise it in that way. People are going to try and survive.
Besides, didn't her parents ever say to her that you can have "too much of a good thing", and what ever happened to "moderation". That is neither left nor right, it is just experienced based common sense.
When is the "great leap forward" supposed to start. Wait am I posting on the wrong article. It seems to apply to everything Josie says these days.
What about CRIME!! Sexual assaults and other violent crimes are common on transit buses, there have been murders, on several occasions, at public bus stops. Gangs, drug trafficking, robberies...... look no further than your local transit bus! Do we want to import these "big city" problems into our community?
10:12. Don't get distracted with crime noise. Stick to the fact that this is a massive taxpayer subsidy for the resorts in Tofino, same as the "affordable housing" on Sharp Road. Almost all Tofino property owners are getting hosed on these deals.
Word received today is that there were 335 OPPOSE submissions. Another source puts the number at 360.
Neither number is sufficient to rein in the spending or stop the tax increase.
Enjoy your bus, folks.
Maybe you'll enjoy this...... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNixDlRoMvA
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