A7 - Sanday News, January 31, 1982 SE rn cai bo ox Dear Editor: Your Sunday News had an excellent letter from the President of the West Vancouver Parents Association which fairly set out both the parent and non- parent taxpayers concerns over the Provincial School Financing formula. The absurdity of West Vancouver (and North Vancouver and Vancouver in a lesser way) being levied to pay for schooling up country when very many areas are given a cash credit after the Homeowner grant has, I hope, come to the notice of the Provincial Cabinet now even though the matter was raised in person and in writing early in 1981. That year West Vancouver paid $400,000 to hinterland schooling and this year it is estimated to be some $1,250,000. Your usually “on target” feature writer Andy Fraser in the same issue missed the Provincial School Financing formula as the problem. We all know the problem is not Assess homes only Dear Editor: Andy Fraser (Tax rebels hit wrong target, Sunday News, Jan. 24) has com- pletely missed the point. The tax problem in our local municipalities is not one of lack of equitability within a given locality. It is one of lack of equitability between different localities in the province, and specifically as these relate to the provin- cially controlled portion of school taxes, municipally taxes. The problem has origins in the tying of residential property assessments to market value, in conjunction with the application of a single mill rate throughout the whole province in the calculation of provincially controlled school taxes. The solution to not to controlled its the assessinents themselves, but the pooling of tax calculations based = on assessments throughout the Province to generate schooling revenues. The Hon. Allan Willams today (Jan. 25) stated to the school trustees and municipal council that the provincial government cabinet would be meeting on the matter this week. We certainly believe that his constituents deserve relief from the present school financing formula situation. School financing formula at fault On local expenditures for schooling or municipal services, the elected School Board and the council are directly responsible and accountable to the tax- payers. The $1,250,000 to go elsewhere from the School Budget is the Provincial Government's responsiblility for which they are an- swerable through the M.L.A. Derrick Humphreys, Mayor, West Vancouver — NOT land problem requires that the assessment base be freed from the vagaries of an investment market. A practical solution would be to remove land assessments, where inflated real estate market prices have been accommodated in assessments, from tax calculations, and to use instead only improvement assessments based on actual current construction § costs with some allowance for depreciation as the basis for calculation. The home one occupies as an owner is a pretty reliable indicator of one’s ability to pay, while the land it is on very probably will not be, if its assessment has increased by 200 to 300% in a three year period or less. Neil Tomlinson West Vancouver Which English do you speak? FROM PAGE A6 heard a group of children from the playground area yelling, “Let the cat die!” As a child, I used to yell it, too. Horrible as the chant sounds, I knew that no cat was in danger. It merely meant they were trying to persuade the boy high in the swing to stop pumping and let the swing slow to a stop so those waiting could have their turn. Something that is really great is “the cat's pajamas.” For example the com- pliment, “That outfit’s the cat's pajamas” or, “Everything they have ts just the cat's pajamas.” For added conve nience we will have a in the South to Loto between 15 1982 Quitoplan booth Mall next Canada January March 15, and David Parry PORTER & HOWAT WEST VANCOUVER LTO INSURANCE >» 2005 Park Royal y South 825 1201 . ¢ (Adjacent to Cafe Royal If you're feeling “not quite up to snuff’ you may be coming down with a cold or your arthritis may be bothering you. Of, if the cake you baked for guests didn’t turn out as good as usual, it’s “not quite up to snuff.” Words heard in old Western movies are still _ language. common in Western Colorado. She kinda “cottons to” him, and for added emphasis at the end of a sentence, “by jove” or “by gum.” Oscar Wilde once wrote that the Americans and the British were two. great peoples, divided by the same I don't agree. | find the divergence dehghtful. There is a homely logic in the colorful con- versation passed down through generations. If I have my way, these picturesque phrases. will always remain a “part and parcel” of the local scene. Or as my Aunt Leota in Colorado would say, “If I had my druthers. . .” NORTH SHORE So Wt "Thar a for the ultimate in banking service, drop in and see us, at 1545 Upper Lonsdale, between 15th and 16th KE THE © COMIMLTTER os ee Oe Y beorisediate (Wete also open Saturdays trom BOO am to 400 pm ) We also otter the conven menee of 7 days a week v4 hours ar day service with ue “Personal Touch” Banking Mare bane COMMUTERS If you commute downtown and find your bank crowded at lunch hour, consider bank- ing with us on your way home. We're open until 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. SUAS ~e ROYAL BANK MORE LETTERS PAGE A& DRAPERY CLEANING When you ‘need pro- fessional advice, and - guaranteed ‘no- shrinkage’ of your valuable draperies, cal the drapery specialists at Roy's Dry Cleaners. 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