Ron Seymour Kelwna Daily Courier Posted: Tuesday, September 9, 2014 8:01 pm
Kelowna property taxes would be frozen for the next four years if members of a new municipal political party win election this fall. In the first major development of the campaign, two former city councillors have created an organization called TaxpayersFirst that targets what they say is out-of-control spending at City Hall. Carol Gran and Graeme James have joined with Dale Olson, a local realtor, to form what is Kelowna’s first political party created at the municipal level. “We think it’s both do-able and realistic to freeze Kelowna property taxes for the next four years,” Gran said Tuesday. “We believe there’s just a lot of fat at City Hall that could be cut. A lot of people believe their money is being wasted.” “Every year, taxes go up faster than most people’s incomes,” Gran said. “City Hall just keeps taking more and more money out of people’s pockets, and I think it’s time for taxpayers to get a real say on whether they want that to continue.” Gran was on city council from 2005-08, and James was a Kelowna councillor from 2008-11. Olson has never held elected office. They are currently the only three candidates for TaxpayersFirst. But Gran said her preference would be to have at least five people identified as Taxpayers-First candidates on the Nov. 15 ballot so the group could conceivably control the nine-person council. The fledgling municipal party may also present a candidate for mayor, although that hasn’t yet been decided-upon, Gran said. “There could be a strong contender for mayor who comes forward who agrees with our core goal of a zero tax increase for each of the next four years,” she said. While municipal civic parties do not exist in Kelowna, they are well-established in other B.C. cities. Vancouver’s politics is dominated by Vision Vancouver and the Non-Partisan Association, and all councillors in Surrey are members of Surrey First. “I know slates are new to Kelowna, but they work well elsewhere,” Gran said. “They’re a common platform for people who share the same broad vision.” A municipal political party, she says, makes it easier for voters to know more about a candidates’ general views on the best way to run local government. With nothing but individual names on a ballot, she says, voters may not know much about any of the candidates. The central principle of TaxpayersFirst is a commitment to freeze taxes between 2015 and the next municipal election in 2018. The candidates are determined to do that, Gran said, and an “operational audit” would be commissioned to identify potential efficiencies and cost-saving measures. “Skilled professionals will tell us where and how savings can be made without reducing services,” reads part of the group’s website, TaxpayersFirst.ca, which will publicly launched Wednesday morning. The group quotes a city finance department document that envisions a municipal tax increase of 23 per cent in the next four years, describing that as “unacceptable and unaffordable.” But this is only a projection, subject to determination by future councils. Recent practice has been for councils to bring in annual city budgets that require tax hikes somewhat smaller than forecast. Since 2011, municipal property taxes have risen 6.3 per cent. Since 1997, Kelowna municipal taxes have gone up 45 per cent, about 10 points higher than the inflation rate. That rate of increase means the city can easily put the brakes on spending for awhile, Gran said. “We will find a way to cut costs,” Gran said. “We’re not declaring war on City Hall, but this is all about getting our financial house in order. These never-ending tax increases have to end.” If for some unforeseen reason municipal taxes had to be increased in the next four years, Gran said TaxpayersFirst would only support such a measure if the idea was put to voters and approved in a referendum.
http://taxpayersfirst.ca/
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