0% NVD budget OK'd

Heritage Fund money
tapped for projects

Marcie Good
Contributing Writer”

NORTH Vancouver
District council sup-
ported a budget
Monday that will see a

- 0% increase to taxpay-
ers this year.

It’s the only budget in the
' Lower Mainland that does not
‘increase taxes or other utility
rates. At “Monday night’s
_ meeting, council turned down
_ a last-ditch effort by Coun.
» Janice Harris to include addi-
tional funding for projects.
With a 4-3 majority of
councillors. Bill Denaule,
“Dou ‘ MacKa »-Dunn,
Heat
Crist: in support, council
passed the first three readings
of - the 2000 ° financial : plan.

Those: councillors had voted’

direct staff 10 cat nearly $2

million from the original bud-..

moving’ Ppparently, o

and. behold,” it has

ice‘ arrived;' but: one room
er sildren’s ; clothes

er. Dunsford and Ernie. ..

, Program;

come down to zero,” said
Dunsford. “I think that says
something about looking at
things more closely. Whether
it is perfect is probably not
realistic, but it is pretty darn
good.”

Bat making the cuts was
no simple feat, as a staff report
pointed out. Balancing the
budget, municipal manager
Gord Howie pointed out,
required using funds that had
previously been set aside for
“unexpected situations.”

Those who opposed the
budget continued to question
what its real cost would be.
“The whole. idea that some-
how a 0% tax levy has no
impact on the level of service
is a lic, a chimera, is misguid-
ed,” said: Harris. She pro-
posed adding a number of
items, which together would
have: accounted for.a- 1.14%

increase. They included: a.
. $140,000 upgrade. to the

Marine Drive and Capilano
Road ‘intersection; a $30, 000

. commercial . container" pur-:.
:' chase” program which would |
| generate revenue; a $163,000
» Lynn Canyon park renovation
$175; 000 . for the

“extremely hazardous.”.

¢ house. There were live
- transformers on the floor of the

“kitchen and a hole in the wall c of.

/ the room the children st
The hole was covers

sthin ; sheet ‘of ‘vencer,. by a
said:

“They. a te hildren)

Kirkstone Skateboard Park;
avoiding parking fees at Lynn
Canyon and Cates parks; and
increases to admission fees at
Maplewood farm. Staff esti-
mated these fees would bring
in $125,000 in revenue.

The net effect of these, she
pointed out, would be a
“modest fiule increase” that
would mean an extra $15 for
the average home. “I thought
1 would do this council 3
favour and add back items
that will come back as hot
issues,” she said.

Council turned down her
package in a 4-3 vote, with
Coun. Lisa Muri and Mayor
Don Bell in support. But
amendments to the budget
took care. of several of the
items she had proposed.

Kirkstone Skateboard Park -

and Lynn Canyon renovation
project will be added, paid for
by the heritage fund principle.

Denault called staff’s pro-
posal to add the parking fees a

“contravention of the instruc-

tions we gave them,” and an
“intimidation tactic.” The 0%
budget, said MacKay-Dunn,
aims to “reconsider our man-
agement. structure,” not to
raise fees. Council voted to

“direct staff to find $125,000

in the operating budget to
avoid the extra: parking. and

and Maplewood Farm.

Crist and Denault voted
against the use of the heritage
fund, money — acquired
through the sale of land and
set aside for capital projects,
for Kirkstune Skateboard Park
and Lynn Canyon renovation
project. “It escapes my logic

~ how anyone can think that

admission fees at the Parks 4

instantly.”.

The : woman faces St gs of
possession of a controlled sub-’
stance for the purpose of traf-
ficking and: productio of a

: “controlled substance.

a

Mother faces. pot charges. |

"the children’s living conditions
‘, would have: been electrocuted :

Power had been bypassed in

downstairs. It’s cut services, °

taking money from the her-
itage fund is not the same as
increasing taxes,” he said.
“The difference is that money
in the heritage fund carns
interest. Raising taxes does
not.”

Harris and Muri argued
againse the idea that items
could be dealt with later, pos-
sibly through the use of the
henitage or a capital contin-
gency fund. “I hear, 0%, 0%,
0%,” said Muri. “But if we
need something down the
road we'll just dip into that
heritage fund that we're try-

“ing to build up. Maybe now ~

we need a skateboard park, so

we'll just dip into the reserves .

that we have. What reserves?
There’s no hidden” kitty
increase

increase fees, or

taxes.” Mayor Don Bell said .

he. thought. the direction
council is taking was a “mis-
take.”

for final adoption.

they. had “touched. it, | ‘they ot

» The «30-year-old male, =

‘whom she denies knowing, has: :
fot been found. |

inter takes a hi toll on pur vehicle, so at
me tak a beary tol Uy lal off P

33 Pemberton Ave. poe bleed

‘Entrance in rear lane

A meeting is set for tonight

The Great Canadian

Pract $94 29

and enweo tees. « Wet Wf.s Coupon ¢ For ingest venmcies

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