"In 2018 we collected $1931.00 per person municipal tax. The Provincial median is and has been around $750.00 per person.
Ours has been over 2X higher and as planned to become more than 3X higher.
This means we have over the last 10 years, collected $10,000,000's of more than other comparable sized communities.
Given that this money has been collected and has come in as cash into our community tax account, why have we not put enough aside over those years to cover our infrastructure needs? What did we need to buy with it?
It didn't go into infrastructure. Where did it go?
Why do we now need to contribute additional $1,000,000's to cover the maintenance of infrastructure, infrastructure which we have had for the last 100 years?
The elimination of the fog zone will be a great reduction to the fire risks we face during the summer.
Since the district is asking for input on their budget I provided them with some on their budget input page
Stop the wasteful spending on projects that are not absolutely essential to the town's existence like gyms and buses. We don't need to pay more taxes. Cut the shuttle service and save us $170,000. Cut the multimodal transportation planning and save us $65,946 Cut the indoor recreation facility and save the taxpayers $10,246,612 Stop the borrowing of $2,900,000 for the indoor recreation facility Stop the guarantee of the $353,780 loan to the Tofino Housing Corporation. We, the taxpayers have already given them a gift of land and now they want the rest of the town to subsidize the cost of their living here. Making their housing affordable makes the cost of living here higher for everyone else. Cut the Campbell street Phase 3 design $135,000 consultancy fees as a citizen committee could easily do better and at zero cost which could then be sent to the engineers to draw up the plans. Cut the $37,000 Monk Point Park planning as once again a citizen committee will undoubtedly come up with better plans and while the district is waiting for that, perhaps the property should be opened to the public. I am also guessing that this will not make it to our mayor and council. I am sure that other areas could also be cut if our Mayor and Council wished to protect the taxpayers from tax increases. Cut the $3,813,048 multi use path extension. The multi use path was originally funded through community fund raising and I suggest we go back to activities like the MupSup. Cut the council arts and culture grants which cost taxpayers money with nothing in return. Cut the Centennial Park riparian activities and save $46,500. It seems that the park has been fine for 30 years so leave it alone. Cut the Integrated Community Sustainability plan review and save $40,000. The Town Council and district staff already know the community is not sustainable with probably the highest municipal taxes of anywhere in the province by 2023. Stop increasing annually the district operations budget. Take a break until it really is needed. If you increase it every year internal cost cutting activities are not encouraged. The nickels saved really add up. The District and the Mayor and Council's job is to provide the citizens with basic infrastructure such as sewer and water, not to make us into Vancouver.
Commuications strategy implementation? What is that! What's wrong with the current logo and why does a new one, which we don't even need, cost over $12,000? This whole section has a budget of over $35,000! This is a total waste of money on something not needed. It seems like there must be a special section within the district office, whose responsibility is to dream up ever more creative ways to invent programs and services that no one needs, simply to consume the taxpayer's money and to keep themselves employed. What's really needed is for someone to go through that office with a broom and clean out some of the unnecessary people employed there.
$37,000.00 to PLAN Monk's Park. Really! That's just to plan it. You gotta be kidding. We were warned during the last election campaign about Josie's "tax and spend" way of doing things. We weren't warned about the part where the "spend" would be on virtually nothing, just spend, spend, spend. Has anyone in the District Office ever heard of the phrase "fiscal restraint"?
What part of the riparian area of Centennial park needs $46,000 worth of work done on it? Isn't that supposed to be a natural, undisturbed area, allotted to the creatures of the forest? Are we installing flush toilets for the bears, otters, and wolves? This is just more of district staff's "get out there and find somewhere to spend money!" policy of fiscal waste.
Bylaw enforcement. DOGS!! Unleashed dogs in the downtown. Dogs running at large on the beaches. Dog feces EVERYWHERE you look. Dogs running loose in our public parks. The mayor says to "educate" the owners. Fine, we tried that. It did not work. Raise the fines. Enforce the( already existing ) laws. How can it be justified that some laws are enforced while others are ignored? What about the rights and safety of people who have issues with or are afraid of large aggressive dogs?
Hi Ralph:
ReplyDeleteI think it would good for the community if you opened up a thread on the upcoming budget meeting on April.
Here's the district link where they ask for feedback,
http://tofino.ca/blog/view/2019-budget-feedback-wanted
Here's what I commented,
"In 2018 we collected $1931.00 per person municipal tax. The Provincial median is and has been around $750.00 per person.
Ours has been over 2X higher and as planned to become more than 3X higher.
This means we have over the last 10 years, collected $10,000,000's of more than other comparable sized communities.
Given that this money has been collected and has come in as cash into our community tax account, why have we not put enough aside over those years to cover our infrastructure needs? What did we need to buy with it?
It didn't go into infrastructure. Where did it go?
Why do we now need to contribute additional $1,000,000's to cover the maintenance of infrastructure, infrastructure which we have had for the last 100 years?
Jarmo Venalainen
The elimination of the fog zone will be a great reduction to the fire risks we face during the summer.
ReplyDeleteSince the district is asking for input on their budget I provided them with some on their budget input page
Stop the wasteful spending on projects that are not absolutely essential to the town's existence like gyms and buses. We don't need to pay more taxes.
Cut the shuttle service and save us $170,000.
Cut the multimodal transportation planning and save us $65,946
Cut the indoor recreation facility and save the taxpayers $10,246,612
Stop the borrowing of $2,900,000 for the indoor recreation facility
Stop the guarantee of the $353,780 loan to the Tofino Housing Corporation. We, the taxpayers have already given them a gift of land and now they want the rest of the town to subsidize the cost of their living here. Making their housing affordable makes the cost of living here higher for everyone else.
Cut the Campbell street Phase 3 design $135,000 consultancy fees as a citizen committee could easily do better and at zero cost which could then be sent to the engineers to draw up the plans.
Cut the $37,000 Monk Point Park planning as once again a citizen committee will undoubtedly come up with better plans and while the district is waiting for that, perhaps the property should be opened to the public.
I am also guessing that this will not make it to our mayor and council.
I am sure that other areas could also be cut if our Mayor and Council wished to protect the taxpayers from tax increases.
Cut the $3,813,048 multi use path extension. The multi use path was originally funded through community fund raising and I suggest we go back to activities like the MupSup.
Cut the council arts and culture grants which cost taxpayers money with nothing in return.
Cut the Centennial Park riparian activities and save $46,500. It seems that the park has been fine for 30 years so leave it alone.
Cut the Integrated Community Sustainability plan review and save $40,000. The Town Council and district staff already know the community is not sustainable with probably the highest municipal taxes of anywhere in the province by 2023.
Stop increasing annually the district operations budget. Take a break until it really is needed. If you increase it every year internal cost cutting activities are not encouraged. The nickels saved really add up.
The District and the Mayor and Council's job is to provide the citizens with basic infrastructure such as sewer and water, not to make us into Vancouver.
bravo 1:07!
ReplyDeleteCommuications strategy implementation? What is that! What's wrong with the current logo and why does a new one, which we don't even need, cost over $12,000? This whole section has a budget of over $35,000! This is a total waste of money on something not needed. It seems like there must be a special section within the district office, whose responsibility is to dream up ever more creative ways to invent programs and services that no one needs, simply to consume the taxpayer's money and to keep themselves employed. What's really needed is for someone to go through that office with a broom and clean out some of the unnecessary people employed there.
ReplyDelete$37,000.00 to PLAN Monk's Park. Really! That's just to plan it. You gotta be kidding. We were warned during the last election campaign about Josie's "tax and spend" way of doing things. We weren't warned about the part where the "spend" would be on virtually nothing, just spend, spend, spend.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone in the District Office ever heard of the phrase "fiscal restraint"?
What part of the riparian area of Centennial park needs $46,000 worth of work done on it? Isn't that supposed to be a natural, undisturbed area, allotted to the creatures of the forest? Are we installing flush toilets for the bears, otters, and wolves? This is just more of district staff's "get out there and find somewhere to spend money!" policy of fiscal waste.
ReplyDeleteBylaw enforcement. DOGS!! Unleashed dogs in the downtown. Dogs running at large on the beaches. Dog feces EVERYWHERE you look. Dogs running loose in our public parks. The mayor says to "educate" the owners. Fine, we tried that. It did not work. Raise the fines. Enforce the( already existing ) laws. How can it be justified that some laws are enforced while others are ignored? What about the rights and safety of people who have issues with or are afraid of large aggressive dogs?
ReplyDeleteIn all this waste.... The fire department gets a paltry $16,000.00 to upgrade and maintain their equipment. Shameful!
ReplyDelete