The tax increase is actually a compounded 60% increase, in the next 5 years. Each year's increases are on top of the previous year's increase. While Council and staff try to justify this horrendous increase , they are completely out of step with our taxpayers and with every other district in BC. Most districts can expect no more than a 10% increase over the next 5 years.
Residents and businesses need to be able to rely on their Councils and staff for sound fiscal management, this is anything but sound financial management. We cannot afford to do everything now, infrastructure will last years longer than staff is predicting. Taxpayers do not need to be in the affordable housing business, leave housings and the risks involved to private developers, who can provide less expensive housing. Council just needs to do is zone land for housing and allow developers to supply the much needed housing.
I am hoping that our new Ratepayers Association, along with the rest of us, can tell Council that we cannot afford these unrealistic tax increases, and that they need to go back to the drawing board. It is obvious that Council and senior staff do not understand the plight of their taxpayers and how expensive living in Tofino is. These tax increases will make renting in Tofino even more expensive and difficult for working people. Landlords will have to convert to vacation rentals, away from monthly rentals, to try to cover their expenses.
I agree with everything Mr. Hackett says. Any normal council would go "Yikes" this is getting ridiculous, and so this should put council in a bind.
Council's proposed review of the portion of taxes coming from the commercial tax base, may look like they are doing something, but only minor adjustments will likely result. Cutting is far more difficult, but they need to cut spending now, and install innovative tax measures that allow the tourist to contribute directly to Tofino's needs. I suggest a gate, and a $10 dollar fee for entre. If the province questions the authority, call it a parking permit fee, and the gate is merely the ticket dispenser. Don't like that?, How about Tofino gets the Bed Tax.
Tofino has seen profligate spending for years. Like a drunken sailor on shore leave who has just cashed and spent his checque only to find his mortgage is due and must be renewed at higher interest, and the roof is leaking and in need of repair, and the refrigerator is empty. His irresponsible behaviour has left him with little choice but to sign on for another season at sea,(raise the taxes yet again) Something he promised he would never due.
Anyone remember 8, 2, 2,That was just three years ago that Council promised consecutive increases of 8%, 2%, and 2%. It was a lie. They couldn't get it done. Unless there is a dramatic intervention, 53% or 60%, however you want to express it won't happen either. It will likely be 65% to 75% based on past performance and the inevitable cost overruns on seriously big projects. Anyone care for a wager.
Total revenues to Tofino have increased at a rate of near 14% compound per year for twenty years...It's a fact friends, and they spent it all. But like the drunken sailor we partied like it was 1999. and then like it was 2000 and then like it was 2001. We partied. Gee that was fun.
Spending 15 million a year is the new normal. When you are running a serious tourist town, expenses to cover all of their needs are bound to be high., but hey we are so successful right? Tofino is a raving success. You budget for "culture" for "Events Planners."(by the way while we have been budgeting for culture the real culture of the coast has been disappearing, replaced by some gentrified version of café society)You pay for their water their sewer, You hire consultants to figure out how to evacuate them when a tsunami comes, you pay for for their beach showers and toilets to be cleaned and garbage to be removed on weekends at Holiday wage rates. You also budget to award grants, hundreds of thousands, for arts and you due lunches for volunteers. You may be seen as trying to buy the votes of the public with their own money, but that would be cynical.
Waste and Wont. There is a history to it. Coming live to Tofino, genuine shanty town collections of ramshackle trailers ,old campervans and tents. Tofino as barrio north. Where the new slave labour classes get to hang out.( My apologies to all Spanish speakers ) This is progress? This is management? This is embarrassment! The modern tourist economy on full display. Look proud citizens of Tofino. Look at your finest creations.
Folks, It is hard to take this all seriously. Mayor and Council don't have the courage or vision to do what is necessary. Eventually, no one will live here. Tofino will be bought outright by Vail Resorts. The airport runways will be lined with private jets from LA and offshore laundered money will control everything. Josie won't see it coming either but will be replaced by that Weinstein guy from Hollywood. Ya, the one who is currently charged with about 100 rape and sexual assault charges. He will buy himself out of his difficulties. Pay off his accusers. It will only cost about $44 mil. And then he will need a new job. He will raise the taxes He can wear a penguin suit and become the new greeter. Tofino will be perfect for him.
You are thinking it can't get much worse, You are thinking just hold on... just hold on.....
this is bizarre.....the district is considering downzoning C-5 for less density and worried about the shortfall in tax revenue... while granting temporary commercial campground increased density status to various properties ie crabapple, meares vista, pooleland, mckenzie beach resort WITHOUT rezoning for higher density which would increase the tax revenue to appropriate levels other income sources are also forgotten about: the lift tax, DCCs, a defined amenity contribution, works and services etc. and lets not forget the ecolodges pitifully under assessed value bleeding revenue away from the district for some years now if anybody is really concerned about this mess it isnt the district as far as i can see....the left hand says it doesnt know what the right hand is doing....can somebody straighten this mess out
More festivals, when do the gladiators appear. Ya, shit hole development allowed everywhere and the Coop rejected. Not allowed to spend 12 million to rebuild the gas station to the highest environmental specs. plus housing units. Maybe they should just pack it in. Poole can sell bootleg gas out of the back of a pickup, that will do. Right Josie. It's just a lifestyle choice.
reading into councillor baerts Motion to put the lid on any accommodation development tells me that someone has woken up to the fact that we are going to run out of water this summer, the sewer situation may turn into a bigger mess than we have ever seen, and nobody knows what to do besides hire more consultants. So stop the music...... Until the consultants arrive. Then we're going to make more water storage somewhere. Not sure where but it's going to cost $1 million..
Alarmists take note: the first thing that happens when we run out of water is that the toilets don't flush. Think about that for a moment. Has there ever been a disaster plan for what to do in that case besides put poop in a green plastic bag and wing it into the bushes? Or put it in a bucket and dump it into the harbor. That's where it goes anyway.........
Dorothy Baert is a genius!! It has been pointed out that the proposed tax increases will make residential rentals unsustainable, so landlords will convert their properties to short term rentals, in order to raise the funds to cover the higher taxes. This, of course, will make the housing shortage even worse. But Dorothy sees into the future, and she has a solution!! Lets put a moratorium on any short term rentals. Brilliant! Deny, for years, any development, and cause a problem. (no housing) Raise taxes to supply affordable housing. (and make the problem, actually,even worse) Now, block development yet again..... "Do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result". Einstein said that's insanity. In this case, it's more like stupidity. Dorothy, please be quiet. You know how to do that. Remember the tax increase debate? The one where you said nothing. You looked at the floor, you looked at each other, you looked at the ceiling, mesmerized by the florescent lights. You said nothing. You're good at it. Please continue.
I am truly perplexed by this council....they thanked the CFO for a mess she had a very large part in creating? A nice person yes but apperanty unsuited for this towns fiscal challenges. Am I the only person who remembers “watergate ? Let’s try again and remove any expense that isn’t absolutely mandatory. This is not a yoga retreat... it’s all of our future we are talking about, and everything is NOT ok no matter how you look at it a tax increase of over 50% is pure failure and can be looked at no other way. Totally bleak future for all ratepayers.
Inaugural meeting of the TOFINO RATEPAYERS ASSOCIATION
Inaugural open house and meeting of the Tofino Ratepayers Association will be held downstairs at the Tofino Legion on Wednesday,June 12. Doors open at 6pm. The Meeting will start at 7pm. Arrive early to avoid a 7pm lineup at the door and allow yourself time to become a member. Membership is free. Come and find out what the Ratepayers Association is all about. If you are a property owner or renter, you need us and we need you to join so that with a united voice, we can tell Tofino’s Mayor and Council to hold the line on taxation increases. Come and learn about the planned increases to your taxes and rents.
Take note of the previous comment. If you do not support this out of control mayor, council and staff, you need to join the new ratepayers association. It is only in speaking as one voice that we can challenge this council and demand that they listen and take direction from the taxpayers and residents. We are unfortunately saddled with probably the worst council in BC. Dorothy, Al and Duncan should have been put out to pasture years ago, the new members have no experience and rely on staff and the old farts to think for them.
Although members of the ratepayers Association appreciate the support, the group is not political and will not condone character attacks on our mayor, council or district staff. We are hoping our efforts will result in positive change of our taxation rates. Remember we are all in this together and collective effort will be required to effect what many believe are needed changes.
The tax increase is actually a compounded 60% increase, in the next 5 years. Each year's increases are on top of the previous year's increase. While Council and staff try to justify this horrendous increase , they are completely out of step with our taxpayers and with every other district in BC. Most districts can expect no more than a 10% increase over the next 5 years.
ReplyDeleteResidents and businesses need to be able to rely on their Councils and staff for sound fiscal management, this is anything but sound financial management. We cannot afford to do everything now, infrastructure will last years longer than staff is predicting. Taxpayers do not need to be in the affordable housing business, leave housings and the risks involved to private developers, who can provide less expensive housing. Council just needs to do is zone land for housing and allow developers to supply the much needed housing.
I am hoping that our new Ratepayers Association, along with the rest of us, can tell Council that we cannot afford these unrealistic tax increases, and that they need to go back to the drawing board. It is obvious that Council and senior staff do not understand the plight of their taxpayers and how expensive living in Tofino is. These tax increases will make renting in Tofino even more expensive and difficult for working people. Landlords will have to convert to vacation rentals, away from monthly rentals, to try to cover their expenses.
I agree with everything Mr. Hackett says. Any normal council would go "Yikes" this is getting ridiculous, and so this should put council in a bind.
ReplyDeleteCouncil's proposed review of the portion of taxes coming from the commercial tax base, may look like they are doing something, but only minor adjustments will likely result. Cutting is far more difficult, but they need to cut spending now, and install innovative tax measures that allow the tourist to contribute directly to Tofino's needs. I suggest a gate, and a $10 dollar fee for entre. If the province questions the authority, call it a parking permit fee, and the gate is merely the ticket dispenser. Don't like that?, How about Tofino gets the Bed Tax.
Tofino has seen profligate spending for years. Like a drunken sailor on shore leave who has just cashed and spent his checque only to find his mortgage is due and must be renewed at higher interest, and the roof is leaking and in need of repair, and the refrigerator is empty. His irresponsible behaviour has left him with little choice but to sign on for another season at sea,(raise the taxes yet again) Something he promised he would never due.
Anyone remember 8, 2, 2,That was just three years ago that Council promised consecutive increases of 8%, 2%, and 2%. It was a lie. They couldn't get it done.
Unless there is a dramatic intervention, 53% or 60%, however you want to express it won't happen either. It will likely be 65% to 75% based on past performance and the inevitable cost overruns on seriously big projects. Anyone care for a wager.
Total revenues to Tofino have increased at a rate of near 14% compound per year for twenty years...It's a fact friends, and they spent it all. But like the drunken sailor we partied like it was 1999. and then like it was 2000 and then like it was 2001. We partied. Gee that was fun.
Spending 15 million a year is the new normal. When you are running a serious tourist town, expenses to cover all of their needs are bound to be high., but hey we are so successful right? Tofino is a raving success. You budget for "culture" for "Events Planners."(by the way while we have been budgeting for culture the real culture of the coast has been disappearing, replaced by some gentrified version of café society)You pay for their water their sewer, You hire consultants to figure out how to evacuate them when a tsunami comes, you pay for for their beach showers and toilets to be cleaned and garbage to be removed on weekends at Holiday wage rates. You also budget to award grants, hundreds of thousands, for arts and you due lunches for volunteers. You may be seen as trying to buy the votes of the public with their own money, but that would be cynical.
Waste and Wont. There is a history to it. Coming live to Tofino, genuine shanty town collections of ramshackle trailers ,old campervans and tents. Tofino as barrio north. Where the new slave labour classes get to hang out.( My apologies to all Spanish speakers ) This is progress? This is management? This is embarrassment! The modern tourist economy on full display. Look proud citizens of Tofino. Look at your finest creations.
Folks, It is hard to take this all seriously. Mayor and Council don't have the courage or vision to do what is necessary. Eventually, no one will live here. Tofino will be bought outright by Vail Resorts. The airport runways will be lined with private jets from LA and offshore laundered money will control everything. Josie won't see it coming either but will be replaced by that Weinstein guy from Hollywood. Ya, the one who is currently charged with about 100 rape and sexual assault charges. He will buy himself out of his difficulties. Pay off his accusers. It will only cost about $44 mil. And then he will need a new job. He will raise the taxes He can wear a penguin suit and become the new greeter. Tofino will be perfect for him.
You are thinking it can't get much worse, You are thinking just hold on... just hold on.....
this is bizarre.....the district is considering downzoning C-5 for less density and worried about the shortfall in tax revenue...
ReplyDeletewhile granting temporary commercial campground increased density status to various properties ie crabapple, meares vista, pooleland, mckenzie beach resort WITHOUT rezoning for higher density which would increase the tax revenue to appropriate levels
other income sources are also forgotten about: the lift tax, DCCs, a defined amenity contribution, works and services etc.
and lets not forget the ecolodges pitifully under assessed value bleeding revenue away from the district for some years now
if anybody is really concerned about this mess it isnt the district as far as i can see....the left hand says it doesnt know what the right hand is doing....can somebody straighten this mess out
More festivals, when do the gladiators appear. Ya, shit hole development allowed everywhere and the Coop rejected. Not allowed to spend 12 million to rebuild the gas station to the highest environmental specs. plus housing units.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they should just pack it in. Poole can sell bootleg gas out of the back of a pickup, that will do. Right Josie. It's just a lifestyle choice.
reading into councillor baerts Motion to put the lid on any accommodation development tells me that someone has woken up to the fact that we are going to run out of water this summer, the sewer situation may turn into a bigger mess than we have ever seen, and nobody knows what to do besides hire more consultants.
ReplyDeleteSo stop the music...... Until the consultants arrive.
Then we're going to make more water storage somewhere. Not sure where but it's going to cost $1 million..
Send in the clowns
ReplyDeleteAlarmists take note: the first thing that happens when we run out of water is that the toilets don't flush. Think about that for a moment. Has there ever been a disaster plan for what to do in that case besides put poop in a green plastic bag and wing it into the bushes? Or put it in a bucket and dump it into the harbor. That's where it goes anyway.........
ReplyDeleteDorothy Baert is a genius!! It has been pointed out that the proposed tax increases will make residential rentals unsustainable, so landlords will convert their properties to short term rentals, in order to raise the funds to cover the higher taxes. This, of course, will make the housing shortage even worse.
ReplyDeleteBut Dorothy sees into the future, and she has a solution!! Lets put a moratorium on any short term rentals. Brilliant!
Deny, for years, any development, and cause a problem. (no housing)
Raise taxes to supply affordable housing. (and make the problem, actually,even worse)
Now, block development yet again.....
"Do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result". Einstein said that's insanity.
In this case, it's more like stupidity.
Dorothy, please be quiet. You know how to do that. Remember the tax increase debate? The one where you said nothing. You looked at the floor, you looked at each other, you looked at the ceiling, mesmerized by the florescent lights.
You said nothing.
You're good at it. Please continue.
I am truly perplexed by this council....they thanked the CFO for a mess she had a very large part in creating? A nice person yes but apperanty unsuited for this towns fiscal challenges. Am I the only person who remembers “watergate ? Let’s try again and remove any expense that isn’t absolutely mandatory. This is not a yoga retreat... it’s all of our future we are talking about, and everything is NOT ok no matter how you look at it a tax increase of over 50% is pure failure and can be looked at no other way. Totally bleak future for all ratepayers.
ReplyDeleteInaugural meeting of the TOFINO RATEPAYERS ASSOCIATION
ReplyDeleteInaugural open house and meeting of the Tofino Ratepayers Association will be held downstairs at the Tofino Legion on Wednesday,June 12. Doors open at 6pm. The Meeting will start at 7pm. Arrive early to avoid a 7pm lineup at the door and allow yourself time to become a member. Membership is free.
Come and find out what the Ratepayers Association is all about.
If you are a property owner or renter, you need us and we need you to join so that with a united voice, we can tell Tofino’s Mayor and Council to hold the line on taxation increases.
Come and learn about the planned increases to your taxes and rents.
Take note of the previous comment. If you do not support this out of control mayor, council and staff, you need to join the new ratepayers association. It is only in speaking as one voice that we can challenge this council and demand that they listen and take direction from the taxpayers and residents. We are unfortunately saddled with probably the worst council in BC. Dorothy, Al and Duncan should have been put out to pasture years ago, the new members have no experience and rely on staff and the old farts to think for them.
ReplyDeleteAlthough members of the ratepayers Association appreciate the support, the group is not political and will not condone character attacks on our mayor, council or district staff.
ReplyDeleteWe are hoping our efforts will result in positive change of our taxation rates.
Remember we are all in this together and collective effort will be required to effect what many believe are needed changes.