Frustration comes to fore (KAMLOOPS)

By MARKUS ERMISCH Staff reporter Jul 30 2006 http://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/
At a city hall meeting with the province’s minister of community services Friday, Mayor Terry Lake vented his frustration with municipalities having to deal with “glaring infrastructure needs.” Lake also criticized the sluggishness with which the federal government initiates infrastructure programs. “We’re left with a gap in funding,” Lake told Ida Chong, who was in town to take in the B.C. Summer Games. Costs are shooting up, whereas the ability for cities to generate money is limited. “We are left with a gap in funding,” Lake said, noting that smaller cities cannot charge a tax on gasoline to help fund public transit, a system the Greater Vancouver Regional District uses to pay for Translink. Chong grew slightly defensive during the exchange, and said that, in fact, the Liberals have increased funding to local governments. The Oak Bay-Gordon Head MLA pointed to the traffic-fine revenue refund as one example of how Victoria is helping communities. “A whole lot of monies have gone into [the Union of B.C. Municipalities],” she said. Speaking after the meeting, Lake said he finds it especially frustrating how Ottawa distributes taxes to provincial governments, from which a fraction then trickles down to municipalities. Often, municipalities have no choice but to raise property taxes, Lake said, noting this is not always the most desirable option. Kamloops still wants funding for several infrastructure projects, most notably the expansion of the airport and the construction of a sewage-treatment plant, expected to cost at least $20 million and $40 million, respectively. Chong, prompted by a question from Coun. Peter Milobar, also talked about industrial taxation. She said industry must be prevented from leaving communities, especially when such industries are the mayor employer of a town. She noted some communities in the Interior often rely on one industrial employer to provide jobs for at least half of the workforce. Kamloops recently grappled with the challenge of providing tax relief to its industrial tax class, finally agreeing to limit tax increases. Yet industries must understand, Lake said, that they, too, benefit from the tax dollars they pay to a municipality.
Chong is currently visiting communities throughout B.C.