Dear Editor:
Re: Quit wasting taxpayer dollars, Letters to the editor, Burnaby NOW, April 20. Nick Kvenich considers that the mayor's trips are a waste of taxpayers' money, but I am holding a different view.
The reason? The assessments on properties have risen by more than 10 per cent (mine is 13.5 per cent) this year.
Assuming that there is no increase in the number of assessments, the revenue from property tax grows by that percentage. The reality is that new buildings keep on being constructed, resulting in the assessment roll being expanded tremendously. Besides, the city council is talking about raising the property tax by three to four per cent. Although I have no information on the government's budget, I would say that it would have a cash sweep of over 15 per cent more than last year. This being so, the mayor should find more ways to spend the money, or he will leave a huge surplus at the end of the year. After all, it is a oneparty council. Whatever the mayor does won't be challenged.
I am pessimistic over how the government manages public funds. If the inflation on property tax keeps going on, sooner or later, the rent collected from a property won't cover its property tax, and retirees on fixed income will have to cut down on their standard of living in order to pay the property tax on their dwellings.
Henry Ho, Burnaby
