NO NORTH Vancouver District residents were in the public gallery on Monday night to hear council debate the municipality’s 1992 operating budget, but there will be no escaping the bad news when the tax notices go out. Residential, commercial and in- dustrial property owners will all be paying an 11% increase in their municipal taxes this year on top of a 10.3% increase in 1991. And this year, the removal of the supplementary homeowners grant in the recent provincial . budget will remove a $250 cush- ion. Although the actual district tax rate increase, is a2 more modest 7%, reductions in revenues from provincial grants, interest income and prior year surplus will result in an 11% increase in expenditures - ina total district budget of - $52,046,000. The figure represents some im- provement on the provisional budget unveiled last month which forecast a tax rate inrease of 7.5% and a consequent 14% increase for the municipal taxpayer. According to Michael Hoskin, director of financial services for the district, the owner of an average district home assessed at $210,000 can expect a municipal tax bill of $1,029, which is $101 more than it was last year. Ald. Ernie Crist, who introduc- ed the budgei, said that of the 7% increase, 4% wiil maintain 1991 service levels, while 3% will pay for increased services. Crist. said council did not set out to raise taxes and that ‘‘addi- tional services are at the request of the community.”’ By Martin Millerchip Contributing Writer Service improvements contained in the budget include: @ the hiring of six additional RCMP officers; @ expansion of risk management inspection services to reduce inju-. ries and losses; © improved parks administration, tree management and parks plan- ning and an increase in summer litter contro}; @ implementation of administra- tion changes recommended in the recent Cuff Report corporate review; @ establishment and funding of a bicycle route committee; @ establishiuent and funding of a street tree advisory committee; @ an additional youth worker and support staff. Crist said that it had been a difficult task to accommodate ail the wishes but concluded by say- ing, ‘‘l think the community will accept $101 so that the livability of our community can be main- tained.”’ The operating budget reflects for the first time a transfer of funding for road reconstruction and traffic works which was previously funded from land sales. The transfer of funding will be phased in over three years, with this budget including $600,000, or Salaries increase 3.5% NORTH VANCOUVER District Council granted Mayor Murray Dykeman a pay hike of approximately 3.5% on Monday nigh: and took similar aldermanic indemnity bylaws to third reading. The decisions followed weeks of agonizing over the appropriate size of pay increases for district council members. A February proposa! called for. increases of approximately 5.5% that would have revised the mayor’s salary by $3,040 to $59,335 and the aldermanic salary from $18,765 to $19,778. That proposal was based on a formula recommended by a citi- zens’ task force in 1988 that calculates a composite annua! in- dex based on Vancouver's con- sumer price index, the average North Shore income, the gross domestic product and district population. But that aldermanic bylaw was derailed when Ald. Jim Cuthbert changed his vote and opposed the size of the raise; the mayor's raise later failed as well. ‘Ald. Joan Gadsby voted against the smaller raises saying that “they were probably justifiable at the 5.5% level.’” Gadsby said that she would like to see an end to feeling guilty for justifying raises in the aldermanic indemnity and that the lifestyle required of an alderman cost her business more than she made as an alderman. By Martin Mitlerchip Contributing Writer Ald. Paul Turner said the issue was one of symbolism and per- sonal sacrifice. ‘We are trying, at least in our own instance, to cut costs,’’ said Turner. Mayor Murray Dykeman said that the effort and quality of aldermen on council was not af- fected by the indemnity received. *“*The community is never ever short-changed by the work done by the aldermen on this council,’’ said Dykeman. The 3.5% increase will raise annual district a'Jermanic salaries by $657 to $19,422 and raise the district's mayoral salary $1,970 to $58,232. [In North Vancouver City, council approved a 3.4% salary raise that puts city annual alder- manic salari:s at approximately $15,760 and the city mayor’s sala- ry at $47,280. In West Vancouver District, the municipality’s aldermen are paid $15,000 annually; West Van- couver’s mayor is paid $45,000 annually. Now adding Bright Lights THE NORTH Shore News is adding some more bright lights to its Wednesday edition. in fact, it is adding the Bright Lights. The new column of social news wil! be written by Louise Aird, a North Shore freelance writer, researcher, screen writer and novelist. Aird was born in Vancouver and has lived in West Van- couver for the past 12 years. Her column (See page 26) will cover the loca} social scene from a North Shore point of view and illuminate local bright lights, both upcoming and well-established. It will appear every Wednes- day in the award-winning News Now section. NORTH VANCOUVER DISTRICT COUNCIL one third of the cost of this year’s program. Crist told the News the decision to stop paying for road patching through lane sales ‘‘took courage.”’ “I feel better about this than anything else in the budget. It could never have happened previously,”’ said Crist, explaining that it was the new district aldermen Janice Harris, Paul Turner and Jim Cuthbert who had supported the change. Ald. Joan Gadsby was the only member of council to oppose the Wednesday, April 29, 1992 - North Shore News - 3 Budget debate plays to empty house District expenditures up 11%; residential tax rate up 7% for 1992 1992 operating budget. She described the budget as *‘not dealing with the realities of the recession.” She said a negotiated wage set- tlement with union employees will cost the district $753,000 this year and $2 million over the length of the contract. Gadsby also described the addi- tion of !9 staff positions (in- cluding six RCMP officers} as “unconscionable increases at staff level in a time of recession.” She added that the district had to learn to do more with less. Ald. Paul Turner argued for more disclosure of the budgetary debate suggesting that residents should know ‘‘what level of tax each alderman will tolerate.” On a practical level, Turner also asked district residents to help keep garbage costs down by reducing waste and to join the block watch program in an effort to.reduce policing costs. “Lam serious about that. It re- ally could affect your future,” said Turner. Ald. Rick Buchols con- gratulated Crist for ‘‘biting the bullet’? and taking on the thankless task of presenting the budget. But Buchols concluded, ‘tI look at the black hole of federal and provincial taxes where I have no idea where my money goes and am astounded by what I get for my municipal taxes.’’ NEWS photo Paul McGrath Eating the profits MEMBERS OF Kathleen Nielly’s Grade 3 class at Larson Elementary School (including left to right Dayna Evahow, Tyler Smolen, Merk Bingham and Philip Santos) held a Pizza Day last week as a fundraising idea for the children’s hospice ‘‘Canuck Place.’’ The class has raised over $800 for the hospice from various fundraising activities. Five-year capital budget OK'd NORTH VANCOUVER District Council passed its five-year 1992-96 capital budget on Monday night along with its 1992 operating budget. By Martin Millerchip Contributing Writer The 1992 capital budget pro- vides for expenditures of $20.8 million, of which $12.5 million comes from the development and sale of district land. {Initial capital requests totalled $30.6 million. Expenditure highlights include: @ Land Development: $5.8 mil- lion will be spent to develop resi- dential and commercial lands. Sale proceeds are used to fund future capital works. @ Buildings: $1.3 million for a new firehall in Deep Cove; $1.2 million towards the municipal hall expansion; $580,000 for the design of the municipal buildings in Parkgate Centre; $205,000 for ex- pansion of the Ron Andrews health club. ® Roads: Reconstruction of Pro- spect (Beaver to Rockland); Delbrook (Evergreen to Mon- troyal); Ruby (Sunset to Bracknell); Carnation (Berkley to ALD. JOAN GADSBY... voted against the five-year capital budget. Emerson); Emerson (Carnation to Mount Seymour Parkway). @® Equipment: $622,000 for ongo- ing municipal computer replace- ment; $807,000 for new commer- cial waste container pickup pro- gram; $753,000 for replacement vehicles in pickup fleet. @ Water System: $1.5 million for the district’s watermain replace- ment program and for main replacement during road reconstruction. @ Parks: $350,000 for Parkgate Community Park; $240,000 for NORTH VANCOUVER DISTRICT COUNCIL Deep Cove Cultural Centre land- scaping and equipment; $100,000 for playground equipment and backstops; $95,000 for Hand- sworth Secondary school track: $75,000 for the Lynn Canyon cy- cle bridge; $50,000 for the Lynn Canyon master plan; $40,000 for the Baden Powell Trail. - @ Local Improvements: Virginia Crescent east of Grace Crescent to be rebuilt on a shared cost basis with the owners. Two aldermen voted against the five-year capital budget. Ald. Joan Gadsby said the district had got its priorities wrong in not fast-tracking community facilities like the Parkgate library, while Ald. Janice Harris said she could not support a plan that allocated 34 million in 1993 and $2.6 million in 1994 “for a golf course that will not be used by the majority of North Shore residents.”’ Harris said that developing the proposed Northlands Golf Course will ‘‘force development into our urban reserves’? and ‘‘prechide congregate . care facilities that should be nestled around Parkgate.”’