Al? - Sunday News, December 7, 1980

“TEACHER STRIKES, SERVICE CUTBACKS"

Militancy urged to fight WV school taxes

By BILL BELL

If West Vancouver taxpayers want to suc-
cessfully fight the estimated $320 increase in
school taxes next year, they’Ithave to be angry
enough to face the difficult realities of con-
frontation politics — tax stnkes, pulling their
children out of school and petition drives.

That was the militant
message given Wednesday
night to a small meeting of a
dozen or so West Van
taxpayers at the West Van
Community Centre by the
Vaacouver-based Human
Action to Limit Taxes

W. Van

Homeowners in West
Vancouver will be pay the
same proportion of total
property taxes to the
municipality as they did last
year, in an attempt by West

Vancouver council to
Minimalize any tax = in-
creases.

Meanwhile, both North
Vancouver municipalities

are staying with the old
method of assessing property
taxes - a method that means
homeowners will bear 7.4

per cent more of the tax
burden.

Recently West Van
council held a_ special
meeting to pass a bylaw to
change the method of
assessing property taxes.

Under the new assessment
method, the proportion of
taxes paid by each class of
property owner (residental.,
business or commercial) will

(HALT) group.

HALT president’ Ric
Bolster told the unofficial
representatives of several
West Van ratepayer groups
that if a petition drive fails to
force the school board to cut
back drastically on its

remain the same as it was
last year.

West) Vancouver Clerk
Doug Allan said that this
new method is an attempt to
minimalize any increases to
the homeowners.

Under the method which
West Van was using and
both North Van
municipalities continue to
use, tax assessments are
based on the actual value of
the property - actual values
that have taken a sharp jump
upwards in the last year.

At their council meeting
last week North Van City
council decided to keep the
old method, despite the fact

one alderman says the
system is “unfair” to
homeowners.

Meeting as a_ finance

committee, council voted to
keep the option after a
lengthy discussion

budget, they must face some
hard choices.

“Are you prepared for
teacher strikes?” Bolster
asked. “Are you ready for a
cutback im services? ... No
out-of-school activities?
Cutting back teachers’
salaries?”

“You have to face the fact
that this problem is not going
away,” he added.

Bolster went on to teil the
audience the opposition was
well organized. “You'll have
to face a very organized and
irate teachers’ federation if

City treasurer Frank
Moulding recommended
council accept this method
because he said it “is the
fairest assessment system”
and prevents a great shift in
the tax burden.

Present at the meeting was
area assessor Harry Jones
who provided an explanation
of the three options open to
the City.

Alderman Gary Payne
said the assessment method
being used by the City “lacks
equity and it lacks
rauonale ~

He said what retaining the
system meant was “an in-
creased taxable share to the
homeowners and a
decreased taxable share to
businesses and industnes.”

He said homeowners were
also hit badly in 1977 when
the City onginally switched

Lower standard inevitable

OTTAWA (UPC)
Canadians must realize they
have to accept lower
standards of living because
of the significant shift) in
wealth from the industna
lized world to OPEC
countries YAS Prime
Manaster Pierre Trudeau
“This has -esulted in

Canada and every other onl

Importing nation having a
slower growth of real in
come — Trudeau said ino
hvely cachange with © on

servative MP John © rostie in
the House

Trudeau saiu ical wealth
was increasing (in average
terms for Canadians and it
will continuc except that
Hecannot continuc to grow as

rapidly asa did before |

Crosbie said inflation was
now 109 per cent annually
the dollar dropped below 44
cents US
interest rates were rising

Monday and

The Newtoundland MP
refermng to lrudecau as
“Sheik Yamanois dancing
partner the Astaire of
Arabia.” said the) |= prime
minister should “pet his head
out of the sand Phe
Canadian people  cxpect
some answers from bim

‘bo apologise te the
honorable member
Trudcau said It takes a
Moment to adgpust oto tas
vulganty —

“Te may be vulgar to ask
about these

annoying

cconpomic poottems

ta

Canada,” Crosbie retorted,
“but the Canadian people do

not think it is vulgar
want some answers.”

They

Were forced to move!

Everything

%o

except

PTESC Mp othoonas

andy & «hex Olates
hobacco & cigarettes
Magazines & books

Libby’s

Dundarave
Pharmacy

2494 Marnitre (ores West via,

922? 326)

HALT is. successful in
forcing the school board to

cut $4.5 million from its
budget,” he stressed.
Bolster warned that the

government's aim was the
redistribution of wealth —
“soak the rich to help the

poor”.
He admitted that a
movement such as HALT

would be hated; yet, he
added, the majority of the

community is looking to
HALT members for
leadership. The petition to
roll back the cost of

to the current
method.

But Payne was alone in his
opposition to the option.

“I happen to believe that
of all the systems I've seen,
to base it upon the actual
value, in the long run, is the
best way,” City Mayor Jack
Loucks said.

He said although it ap-
peared that mdustnes were
petting a break when it came
to paying City taxes, this
might even out when it came
to paying school taxes.

Alderman Stella Jo Dean
said homeowners would
naturally be paying a larger
share because more homes
were built this year, and the
taxes would be spread out
among more homeowners.

assessment

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education, he explained,
would be the beginning of
the campaign.,

The estimate of a $320 tax

would divide
couver.

“I wish you the very best,”
he told his fellow audience

West Van-

increase was taken from an members, “but sometimes
analysis of the effect of the you can do more with sugar
provincial government's’ thanaclub.”

withdrawal of funding for Sykes, who was present,
schools by Gleneagles indicated that he too did not
Ratepayers spokesman Paul wish to be part of the new
Sykes. West Van Chapter of HALT

The militancy of Bolster’s
speech appeared to scare off
a few of the audience. One
man left the meeting
declaring he would not be
part of an organization that

being proposed by Bolster.
Five other people,
however, indicated by a
show of hands that they were
interested in forming a West

Van Chapter.

changes tax assesment method

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