Editor:
Once again city council’s mandate for no tax increases has resulted in cuts to the services that help make Williams Lake a vibrant inclusive city that people enjoy living in. The minimal grant that Scout Island received to help the volunteer organization operate and maintain this jewel in the heart of the city may be rescinded.
What I can’t understand is that these “business minded” councillors and mayor don’t seem to know much about business. For what is really happening year after year is not a status quo, rather we are going backwards. With increasing yearly costs for BC Medical premiums, ICBC and BC Hydro just to name a few that are being downloaded from the provincial government we also must take into account the obligations of employee contracts. We need tax increases just to keep up. Or else we need an influx of taxpayers.
Now zero tax increases sound great on first glance but what is really happening is that we are gutting the framework of what makes Williams Lake appeal to the very people who pay the taxes. We are placing more of the burden on fewer people.
Instead of modest tax increases spread over all which then go to help everyone walk on cleared sidewalks or everyone paying a little to help with the management of Scout Island we are leaving it to those who have the ability to pitch in whether it is physical or financial and in the end those people pay the cost for everyone.
What is next on the chopping block and where will it end and when it will Williams Lake be a city that people are going to want to live in?
Kim Herdman
Williams Lake