This is not the time for the mayor and council to pat their back, just because we have lower taxes then other out-of-control big spending cities, which keep digging deeper into taxpayer’s pocket. This mayor and council are out of control and are spending our money like a bunch of drunken sailors in a foreign port. Why an increase of 2.44 per cent? It may look like a small amount to some people, but not for people on fixed income. A few per cent every year keeps adding up. The bank does not even pay that much in yearly interest.
It’s not a problem for our council to spend millions on unnecessary roundabouts (A green light similar to Sumas and Tyson, would have worked just as well) and I drive through there every day and it’s not a problem, or the stupidity of buying land downtown, or spending $190,000 for nice signs, just to name a few. If you don’t have the money then don’t buy it – that is what normal people do. It’s easy to balance the budget, when you can dig into everybody’s pockets to get the balance. Every year I hear the same thing, ‘It’s just a small amount and it’s much less than other places.’
Why is the city getting involved in real estate, when investors won’t? Some of the reasons they don’t are probably because of all the silly rules this city has made, like dictating the colour that is acceptable for your building or make you pay extra if you don’t live in Chilliwack, but mostly because of the large amount of taxes business have to pay. If investors can’t make a go of it, why does the city think it can do a better job? This is not your mandate and please keep my tax money out of it. Most cities that have tried, have lost millions of taxpayers’ money doing it, just look at Vancouver.
Why can’t we get a one per cent tax decrease in taxes? There is no reason why that could not happen, if we elect the right people for council. Wake up taxpayers and participate at the next election.
We need a tax revolt in this city and province. The lying Liberals say they do not raise taxes. I just received my gas bill for $50.78 worth of gas, and then added the delivery charges, carbon tax and GST for a total of $125.14. Thank you Liberal government. I can’t wait to get my Hydro bill and my ICBC renewal, every time I do, I remember the Liberals.
So, for me, to balance my own budget, what can I do? I guess I can cut down on food, or maybe skip on my prescriptions, don’t license my car or just don’t pay my taxes; I just don’t have any other pockets that I can dig into like the city or the province.
Louis Raboin