V council

introduces
"91 budget

WEST VANCOUVER
District Council gave the in-
itial readings Monday nighi
to the bylaw for the
municipality’s $86,945,300
199) budget.

By Maureen Curtis
Contributing Writer

Ald. Pat Boname said the budget
was especially difficult to finalize
this year because of the reces-

3 ot 4

WV Ald. Pa! Soname... difficult
to finalize udget in reces-
sionary climite.

sionary econorsic climate and the
need to honor past budget com-
mitments. ‘

Following meetings with local
ratepayer and consmunity groups,
council asked staff department
heads for anin-depth review of
their operations to find areas
where costs could be cut.

The result is a budzet that will
increase taxes 7.7% for the
average taxpayer.

West Vancouver’s budget actu-
ally calls for a 9.7% tax increase,
but that total will be offset by a
2% increase in the number of
West Vancouver taxpayers.

The budget increase is ai-out
1.6% above inflation because
about 1% of the budget increase
has been earmarked for a new
Capital Facilities Fund. The fund
has been established as a result of
recommendations from the

WEST VANCOUVER
DISTRICT COUNCIL

district’s finance task force calling
for more long-term fiscal plan-
ning.

A Finance Advisory Commis-
sion has also been established in
the municipality to advise council
on financial issues.

According to Boname, council
considered the new tax reform
measures that were made law by
the provincial government this
year in an attempt to address the
problems of tax redistribution
caused by unequal increases in
property assessments.

Council had the option of im-
posing a partial flat tax or a dif-
ferent tax rate on land than would
be imposed on improvements to
property.

“*Examination of both options
revealed that while some problems
were solved, others were created,”’
said Boname, explaining why
council decided to stick with the
conventional method of applying
a variable tax rate to the total
assessed value of each property.

Tax rates have been set to avoid
shifting the proportion of the
taxes paid by business and the
portion paid by residents.

As commercial and residential
values have changed by different
percentages, it was necessary to
change the ratio between residen-
tia! and commercial taxes to
1.968, which the municipality
believes is still the ltowest in the
Greater Vancouver Regional
District.

But commercial properties in
the Ambleside area will be hit
with a new tevy to pay for the
area’s multi-million dollar
tevitalization program completed
over the last few years,

To assess the value received for
tax money spent, council has
ordered a Management Effec-
tiveness Audit. The audit will
review cach municipal depart-
ment’s operations and make rec-
ommendations for improvements
in efficiency and effectiveness.

The study will be conducted
over the next few years, starting in

See Road page 8

Wednesday, May 8, 1991 - North Shore News - 3

NEWS photo Cindy Goodman

FIRE STRUCK Tuesday morning at a North Vancouver home. North Vancouver District
firefighters were called to 2669 Standish Drive at 10:44 <.n. Upon arrival six minutes later, crews
found the house fully involved in fiames. Fire destroyed 3 $250,000 house. The fire is believed to
have been caused by a faulty toaster oven.

NV City

NORTH VANCOUVER
City’s 1991 budget is up
6.24% over 1990, Mayor
Jack Loucks announced
Monday night as city
council introduced its
$30.7 million budget for
1991.

By Pamela Lang
Contributing Writer

Strata unit owners have been
hic by an average 3.7% tax in-
crease, while apartment build-
ing owners will pay 14.1% less
than last year.

The 1991 tax rate for single-
family dwellings will average
$1.175 per $1,000 of assessed
value (down 7.9% from 1990);
strata units: $726; apartment
buildings: $9,718; commer-
cial/business: $12,206 (up
2.1%); light industrial: $6,225
(down 0.3%); major industrial:
$563,395 {up 1.8%); and
utilities: $155,939 (up 2.1%).

“The average single-family
homeowner will pay SIO less

budget u

NORTH VANCOUVER
CITY COUNCIL

this year, whereas strata
owners will pay approximately
$26 more,’’ Mayor Jack
Loucks said, adding that the
fluctuations were caused by
property assessments, provin-
cial homeowner grant increases
and a reduction in school taxes
in District 44.

Other city income came from
a 10% increase in Tax Sale
Lands interest; revenue projec-
tions for construction permits
are down $400,000.

In explaining budget expen-
ditures, Loucks said city staff
salaries are up by 5%, while
debt charges have declined by
11.5%. The city’s share of the
North Shore-wide recycling
program is $479,000.

Other budget expenditures

include:
* a $4.7 million capital budget
(32.5 million of this budget
comes from interest earned
from Tax Sale Lands):

p 6.24%

© $1.6 million for roads;
* $542,000 for parks;
* $100,000 for the police build-
ing study;
© $616,447 for
buildings;
© $432,181 for machinery and
equipment.

Major operating budget ex-
penditures for 1991 include:
* police: $5,313,820 (a 15.3%
increase over 1990);
*total general government:
$5,597,936 (an 11.4% in-
crease);
® joint or special expenditures:
$3,717,287 (a 14.8% increase);
® fire: $3,677,036 (a 5.5% in-
crease);
* administration: $3,640,427 (a
9.7% increase);
*engineering, streets and
drainage: $2,400,74! (a 16.6%
increase);
* recreational and community
services: $1,435,393 (a 3% in-
crease);
*garbage collection and
disposal: $1,401,205 (a 23.8%
increase);
etransfer {reserve funds):
$890,810 (a 29.5% decrease);

other civic

NVD budget up 10%; industrial taxes up 30%

DESPITE ESTIMATES earlier this year that North Van-

couver District municipal taxes would

increase almost

22%, many single-family district homeowners will actually
pay less tax in 1991 than they did in 1990 after claiming
the provincial homeowner’s grant.

The district’s operating budget
will increase by $4,445,000 in
1991, or 10% over 1990, to
$48,753,000.

North Vancouver District
Mayor Murray Dykeman said
Monday night that just maintain-
ing service levels in the district
represented a 7.6% budget in-
crease. He pointed out that
council had worked hard to limit
the cost of additional services to a
2.4% tax increase.

Dykeman acknowledged that
the provisional budget figures had
“created fear’? and that ‘‘this
council has heard and been aware
of that fear.’* .

The average tax levy increase
will be 10.3%, but the rate on res-
idential property has decreased

By Maitin Millerchip
Contributing Writer

significantly from the 1990 rate of
$5.80 per $1,000 of assessed value
to $4.42 per $1,000.

Part of that decrease will be
covered dy $1,063,000 in taxes
generated by new construction.

Hit with the largest tax in-
creases for the second year in a
row are major industry in the
district, who will pay an average
increase of 30.2%.

Ald. Ernie Crist, who has long
campaigned for higher industrial
taxes, said ‘‘We have now arrived
at what | consider to be a fair and
equitable distribution of taxes."

NORTH VANCOUVER
DISTRICT COUNCIL

NVO Ald. Ernie Crist... pushed
for higher industrial taxes.

Crist also spoke of the efficien-
cy of local government. Pointing
to the expense of the RCMP con-
tract as an example, Crist said,
‘‘Many residents are not aware of
the level of services that we pro-
vide.”

According to Director of Fi-
nancial Services Mike Hoskin, the
primary increases in basic service
costs are:
©1991 wage
($1,207,000, including a 4.25%
salary increase for council
members (sce page 12 for details);
* RCMP contract for services
($611,000);
«solid waste
($819,009);

* recycling programs ($286,000);
¢ public health services ($320,000);
© and the GST ($120,000).

Part of the $1,059,000 budgeted
for additional services will pay
for:

* upgrading district software for
information retrieva! ($275,000);

settiements

disposal charges

© expanded facilities at Centennial
Theatre, Ron Andrews and Karen
Magnussen recCentres ($130,000);
© parks and trails ($105,000);
*environment protection
grams ($84,000);

6 library services for children and
Sunday openings in Lynn Valley
($83,000);

*fire protection
(375,000);
eemergency program planning
($24,000);

“There is more to a community
than just roads and parks and
recreation facilities,’’ said Crist.

Ald. Rick Buchols sounded a
note of caution as he ‘‘retuctant-
ly’? supported the bylaw.

pro-

services

Said Buchols, ‘*While the
budget has some positive aspects }
don’t think that we can be blind
to the fact that we have a 10.6%
increase at a time when inflation
is running at about half of that.
We have to be alarmed.”*