al fundi Fron pasa t oWe think | Transbanks are few alngost completely out of conte. sant Liz ‘orth Vancouver based CAGE ( Coalitien tor Accountability in Government Enterprises! B.C. “They're just going from one unworkable ideate the newt. Theyre not siting down to really think about it. “This could be the stra that breaks the caniel’s back ‘from the public's point of view. There’s a sense that there's no . planning or thought behind what theyre doing.” TransLink spokesman Ken Hardie satd a surveillance svs- tem was “the least preferred option.” and would be intro- Sharp needs anot ‘NORTH Vancouver City (NVC) Mayor { Barbara Sharp wants to double the number of *eeretaries working for er. f In a proposal that comes before council again: tomor- row night, Sharp says. she needs an additional full-time secretary’ plus the four-day a week administrative assistant she already has. . “The additional workload for the administrative assistant position is partially a matter of y my style and is partially a mat- ter of workload generated by f me as mayor,” wrote Sharp in ja Dec. 7 report asking for council to approve the new secretary job. Sharp did not return News calls to press time. Her assis- tant said that she had e-mailed Sharp the message to phone the. News. Sharp was at a Greater. Vancouver. Regional s District meeting in Burnaby. | The secretary then phoned to say that Sharp had e-mailed back.and wanted to know what the News would be dis- cussing. Another message was given ‘to the secretary and then e-mailed to Sharp. Sharp did not call the News. In the mayor's proposal for another secretary she states hat her increased workload was due to a number of things including: Bi the city’s involvement with sister-city activities such as the Jalleyfield and Chiba visits; ; a economic development H activities and outreach to the The Tome James of af the Hifetiaw duced aniv af there were no viable alternatives tor colieenng payment ansfink has nor vet n t commee the provinehal government ta cob: fleet othe fev through an Iereased ais tay or through B.Cs vehicle licence and Teyis tration svsten: (which entails a minimal collection costs, Sane bo federal or provincial tind: ing for regional transpert hays been promised. Uni this week, pve MEAs — Coquitlam’s Tim Stevenson and Burnaby’s Fred Randall — sation the “Transfink board. Hardie said TransLink had received word within the last few days that the pair would not be attending fiture board mectings. business community such as meetings with) the — Jim Pattison group and hosting visiting dignitaries from Korea and elsewhere; @ the development in a “new direction for gifts for visiting dignitaries and special presen- tations”; ® “the mayor's office has established a new direction for city merchandise available for sale”; @ “the mayor's office is taking a new direction in’ pho- tographing and = archiving events and, there is followup - with participants, and there is press involvement...” The mayor calculated that the new full-time secretary would coast a net $25,400 to city taxpayers. Sharp, who became mayor more than a year ago, recently Hardie sand it wasi't clear why the pair were no longer coming and whether they sould be replaced. or whether there woald now be no MEA partiapation in’ board meet- Ings. Currently the province col- fects a US cent per fitre tay on gas, oof which | TransLink receives eight cents. TransLink is asking for a gas tax hike of five cents a litre, “We need a secure source of end ot funding by othe February” says “Otherwise we will Hardie. have to impose system cutbacks as of June 1 (2001)." Hardie said that prior to the creation of ‘TransLink in April 1999, the Vancouver Regional Transit, Commission. had er hand had her travel expenses increased by $2,272 a year from $509 a month to $690. The tormer city mayor, Jack Loucks, used his own car and did not ask for mileage money. Sharp documented her citv business mileage at an average 768 km a month, lronically on Dee. . 7, counei) looked: at a financial planning commitice ‘sugges- tions tu saye money including: & saving $2,000 a year by not returning job applications and writing comirmation letters; @ flowering special events funds trom $40,00; B raising the rent by five per cent rent on city properties; B conduct a “blitz” to collect fees from unlicenced business: es for a potential $25,000. —Anna Marie D'Angelo Visit Wiz Zone in Park Royal to find the best intelligent software and gifts * Best selection of educational software. ¢ LEGO Mindstonns * Knex and Cyber Knex * KLUTZActivity Books © Leap Frog Learning Aids >? Wild Pisnet Spy Accessories For Foreign & $65,000) to! begun to use reserve finding te improve transit, and read infrastructures in the GVRD onthe understanding that a sustainable new souree of reve enue would be forthcoming. Rell said his change of heart about the levy alse stemmed from: othe “sympathetic” response that he and other Jocal mayors recewed trom Paul Martin when they met with him after che federal elee- tion. The TransLink levy vote took place five days before the election. Bell would be happy to sce a new pas tax introduced, but says it’s “counter: productive | te pursue the levy while we're pursuing (government) fund- ing.” Bell voted against Wednesday's mation. He said: trving to force Motorists to pav up bv issuing warning, letters represented “fuzzy logic.” and would only incite “civil disobe- dience. Those who do pay will end up paving more,” ne said. CAGE. B.C, is opposed in principle to the vehicle Jew. James says the funds raised through the new tax will geo to tind the growing operating costs and debt for SkvTrain, and will not benefit other tran- sit oF transportation systems. CAGE B.C. members plan te organize a Lower Mainiand- wide boycott of the levy if it is introduced. “What we're saying is, “You can impose as many new taxes as vou want,” says James. “We're not going to payo™ Give the Gift of . Learning! Personalized gitt certificates ave availuble for any occasion: Birthdays, Anniversaries or Holidays. Your friend or family member has one vear to use the gilt certificate and may choose from more than 200 courses. Enquiries to 984-4901. Professional Film Studies Find out about opportunities in the film industry at one of our free Information Nights Thursday, January 11 Thursday, January 18 7 to9 pan. in CELS Call 984-4901 to register. Hot topics in Giobal Weather EI Nino? La Nina? Global warming? Why is Vancouver's weather more unpredictable than most other cities in North America? Find out from geographer Karen Ewing and physical oceanographer Dr. ° Noel! Boston. 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