Editorial — Citizens speak out

February 09, 2010

Saturday’s town hall meeting with politicians from three levels of government — federal, provincial and municipal — offered an opportunity for citizens to both hear and question those whose decisions cost us a great deal of tax money each year. And citizens did not disappoint with their questions.

The Times was pleased to be involved in organizing and promoting the meeting. This newspaper believes it is important to give citizens every chance to become better informed on issues, and we are pleased that Langley is represented by elected officials who also take that responsibility seriously.

On a sunny Saturday morning, about 150 people came to Nicomekl Elementary to hear MP Mark Warawa, MLA Mary Polak and Langley City Mayor Peter Fassbender discuss a wide variety of issues. The value of having representatives from all three levels of government became apparent from the questions posed, as many of them dealt with issues involving more than one level of government.

The opening remarks illustrated that taxpayers and their governments are nearing a crossroads. Slides that Polak showed about provincial revenues and expenditures illustrated starkly just how government’s fortunes have fallen. There is far less money coming in, yet there are more demands than ever for improved services. The health budget, in particular, is taking more and more provincial resources each year and that won’t change.

While the federal government has yet to indicate that it will raise taxes, despite a massive deficit, the province is bringing in the HST on July 1 — something that was clearly not popular with many members of the audience. It also just raised MSP premiums. At the same time, the province has kept income tax rates down and has brought in many exemptions to keep lower-income people from paying much in tax.

The City is also raising taxes, and it has the fewest options when it comes to raising funds.

While people are demanding services, and many questions indicated that desire, every government service cost money. Taxpayers are also feeling stretched.
In the next few years, the imbalance between expectations and the ability to pay more and more in taxes will have to be rectified. It won’t be an easy task. People at Saturday’s forum got a glimpse of that dilemma.

—Frank Bucholtz