Al0- Sunday News, February 8, 1981

cers’ strike* is having
the’ city with picket
‘bage. piling up, and many
4 ‘and sporting. activities cancelled.
-Today’s que Hon is.

live in an
and our
nager has the garbage
biem under control.
m buying: books since
-the library is shut down.

Tm a bakery worker
d the waste food is
starting to pile up. Soon it
will become a health
hazard. I hope the strike
ends soon.

| Adrian Krabbendam
‘Delta

affecting me much. I live
“in Delta and we have
private firms picking up
LA the garbage. I can live
“without the library. If I
a have to do business at
City Hall, I will cross the
; picket line.

Mrs. Anna Erho
North Vancouver

I'm recycling all the
> garbage that I can such as
‘Newspapers, tin cans, and
+ bottles. I'm putting the
‘organic garbage in the

rest to my cottage on the

weekend where I can
dispose of it. I'm using a
school library instead of
the City library.

Brian Domncy
North Vancouver

My garbage is piling up
, at the back of my house
and I'm experiencing
some problems with dogs
getting into it. Luckily, I
j haven't had to do any
# business at City Hall
im) because I'm not going to
cross any picket line. I'm
“working out at the SFU
gym so I don't need the
Rec Centre.

. Authority,

So far, the strike isn’t-

garden. I'm taking the,

“Homes ‘are for - . Faising
families, not general
revenue,” says Betty Griffin,
spokesperson for the newly
formed Committee for Fair
Assessments. who has ap-~
pealed 1981 assessments of
Hooker; Erco’and Mohawk
Oil as being too low. oo

All three companies have
also filed appeals, claiming
their assessments are too

‘high. . Griffin noted that

Hooker won their appeal last
year, getting nearly $10
million knocked off their

machinery assessment of $31

million.

“The only exemption a
homeowner can get is for-a
bomb shelter,” charged the
committee,“yet business and
industry get huge exemp-
tions.”

For example,
dustrial land assessment
totalled $83 million, but
exemptions. of ‘$26 ‘million
leaves industry paying taxes
on only $57 million.”

More and more of the
costs of hospitals, welfare,
transit, schools, the B.C.
Assessment Authority,
Municipal Finance
trade centres,
etc., are becoming the cost

1981 In-

‘of shelter for homeowners

and tenants. And because

‘land is in such short supply,
- combined with out and out

speculation, costs of homes
bas doubled in Greater
Vancouver during the past

Sceptical
300,000

Though North Vancouver
City will be getting almost

$300,000 more from the B.C.
government this year, at

least one City alderman is
sceptical about the supposed

windfall.

y assessment watchdogs

year, adds Griffin. “Assess-
ments of property are
supposed to reflect
actual value — which in
reality means whatever your
neighbour sold his house for,
not that your home is a year
older and the roof leaks.
Residential assessments in
North Vancouver District
jumped 62 percent, but
business increased only 6
percent, while industrial

assessments went up only

12.5 percent,” she says.

“ “The Greater Vancouver
Regional District has already
blasted the government's
obsolete education financing
formula for shifting an in-
creasingly unfair share of
school costs on the
metropolitan area compared
to the rest of B.C.,” says
Griffin.

“Also slammed in - the
GVRD's brief was the
dramatic decrease in the
total provincial contribution
to school costs while the
total continues to climb
because of inflation. “And
here on the North Shore,
residents are in an even
worse situation, . because
both councils chose Option
D, the worst possible for the
homeowner, for levying
municipal taxes. If Option A
had been chosen, which
almost all other
municipalities in the metro
area chose, homeowners

about
grant

Increases in school taxes
“will more than gobble up
the increase,” Frank Mar-
cino said.

Alderman Bill Sorenson
said the grant has increased
37 per cent over the past two
years.

NOW OPEN

La'Coupe Vancouver
under the management of

TOM KLASSEN

Coupre de Ville
Har Surtou

for Women & Men
“Ask about our Complimentary

at,

1664 Marine

Limosine Service”
Dr. 926-6026

the

Coupe de Ville |

_

here would pay about half of
their present municipal
taxes.

“When Victoria
nounced this new plan,
which allows councils to
choose one of four options as
a method of levying taxes,
the chief assessor for B.C.
warned that Option D was

very tough on homeowners |
and let business and industry |

off lightly. Griffin says, the
whole niethod of assessing
property further distorts the
picture. ,

“It is shocking to see
residential land assessments
in the district jump by 65
percent, while Hooker and
Erco land assessments in-

Sale starts Feb. 6

® Rattan .
© Swivel Rockers
e Accessories

West Vancouver
925-1101

Vancouver location

an--

Clearance Sale
INDOOR FURNITURE

© Wrought iron dining suites

North Vancouver
under the management of

EUGENE BERTI

Eugene will now be taking all his appointments at the North

LaCoupre de Ville

for Women & Hate, Ke

-Complimentary Limo Service-
125 East 15th St.
(vs bik. off Lonadate) 980-2625 |

créase by only 5. 6 percent
and Mohawk Oil by just ;
percent — that’s Fight, less
than one percent.”

The committee for Fair
Assessments says it will figh
for changes in legislatio;
both at the provincial a
local level to end the “unf,
assessment and taxation o
homeowners.” It is 2
pealing to all homeowners t
join the . committee. ..an
support its efforts. Residen

afternoon, February 1
when the appeals agains’
Hooker, Erco and Mohawk:
will be heard.

Vancouver
261-41 16

Hair Farlour