It’s time for property taxes and I am so grateful that we finally have a fiscally responsible town council.
In the previous 12 years, in my opinion, money was wasted over unnecessary items:
• $1.6 million overrun on the ring road, most of it due to an unsubstantiated environmental issue (source: The NEWS, Nov. 28, 2006)
• we purchased three electric cars costing us over $110,000 — one was re-sold, one doesn’t work and the other one is stored in the garage until the next parade. They are scheduled for replacement in the next 3 years. Amazing. (Source: the town’s investment plan summary of 2011).
• In 2009, the town purchased a state-of-the-art snow plow for $170,000 that would make Fort St. John proud and has stored it ever since. Great plan (source: The NEWS, 2009).
• In 2012, we bought the old school bus garage for $1.5 million. In my opinion we paid at least $700,000 over the market price, had no plans for the property, it still needs to be cleaned up environmentally and has restricted zoning. What did we do? We made it into a parking lot with storage. Wise purchase?
There are more examples of frivolous expenditures during those 12 years. It’s so easy to spend other people’s money and, in the case of the previous councils, that is certainly the case.
Thank you to the present council for keeping unnecessary expenditures in check.
Denyse Widdifield
Qualicum Beach