Councillor vows to lower taxes

Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: March 20, 2010 12:00 PM

There will be one final fight to try and lower Vernon taxes. Coun. Bob Spiers will try and keep his colleagues from adopting the 2010 budget and its 1.9 per cent residential tax increase Monday. “I want to try and whittle it down further,” he told The Morning Star. “It may include trying to remove some of the items already approved.” Spiers wouldn’t get into specifics but he has previously expressed concerns about the former medical clinic site being turned into greenspace. The 31st Avenue building was purchased for $1.4 million. About $507,000 will be spent to demolish the building, and $199,500 is earmarked for a detailed design and the first phase of creating a park. “There should be nothing in the budget that’s not required,” said Spiers.

If the 1.9 per cent increase goes ahead, that will amount to an additional $19.88 for a home assessed at $418,676. Spiers doesn’t believe the proposed budget takes into account the challenges facing many residents during the recession. “All of the different taxes are going up — water, hydro, gas and the regional district budget,” he said. “We have to address the concerns expressed by the budget.”

Mayor Wayne Lippert isn’t sure if council will agree to Spiers’ request to reopen the budget. “I’m pretty happy with it as is,” he said of the financial plan. “If there were any changes, we’d have to go back to a public hearing. If it’s worthwhile, council will look at it.” Lippert is willing to consider scaling back most of the work planned for the medical clinic site this coming year. “We could clean it up and just put some grass in. That would cut a few thousand dollars from the budget,” he said. Under provincial legislation, municipalities must have their 2010 budgets adopted by May.

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Budget changes are too late: Morning Star Editorial: Published: March 20, 2010 12:00 PM

Some criticism over the City of Vernon’s proposed 2010 budget has surfaced lately, and that is understandable as no one likes tax increases. But many of the protests came at the 11th hour when virtually all of the dirty work on the financial plan had already been completed. Council deliberations began months ago and every meeting was open to the public, with residents given opportunities to provide feedback. Most of the individuals who stood up at the recent input sessions had not taken part in those earlier sessions. If the city’s finances are so important, why did they wait so long to get directly involved? Certainly the proposed 1.9 per cent tax increase could be eliminated, but half of that is being directed towards future infrastructure improvements. As the city’s roads, sidewalks and sewer lines age, having a reserve to fund upgrades is critical.

If one item could be chopped that would be the $199,500 for phase one of a new park on the old medical clinic site. Greenspace is always a positive thing, but there is a time and place for everything, and that’s definitely a frill when many taxpayers are struggling through tough times.

While the budget doesn’t have to be approved until May, an extensive and open process was followed by council. Every service that residents either require or demand costs money, and items could be chopped from the budget if that appears to be the wishes of the public. But based on the poor turnout at input sessions and the inability of some residents to get involved earlier, time has run out.