TAX REFORM – this has been in the Halifax media a lot lately and I would like you to clearly understand my position on this. Two years ago the... Full Article
TAX REFORM – this has been in the Halifax media a lot lately and I would like you to clearly understand my position on this. Two years ago the HRM struck a Tax Reform Committee which has diligently held Public Meetings, surveys and responded to residents comments. From the information received this Committee came up with a series of proposals they felt would bring some balance and fairness to the taxation system the HRM uses. I mostly support these recommendations but unfortunately the urban block of Councillors do not and they are mostly opposed to any changes to the status quo. Articles have been placed in the Herald and Coast trumpeting that Tax Reform is about fewer taxes for the rich and more for the poor, that is completely and totally false and inaccurate. I am completely opposed to the status quo because the current system is based almost solely on the Assessed Value of a Home, this means that there is no provision for either Incomes of residents or services provided (or not provided) to be taken into account.
What is very obvious to virtually all of our District Two residents is that we pay the taxes like they do in the urban city with a slight suburban & rural discount but get little or no services in return, just a few examples:
- we all pay transit tax, the difference is that there are buses all over the urban area – virtually none out here.
- most of the urban areas have both city water & sewer, maybe 20% of District Two gets either and we have to pay for the installation of it ourselves
- All Rec Centres & rinks in the urban areas are paid for by General Tax Rates (everyone pays), out here we pay Area rates (only we pay for them) etc etc
This is obviously brutally unfair, I support and have argued for a new tax system based on three components and those are Assesed Value of a Home, Services provided and Income. The problem with the whole issue of Tax Reform is that ultimately there are more Urban City Councillors than there are Suburban & Rural ones so they will always hold the majority of votes, last week the 6 Dartmouth area Councillors voted against any kind of tax reform preferring the status quo. Ultimately they have voted against this because if we bring any kind of “Services Accountability” into the equation taxes out here where there are so few services would have to go down, that automatically means taxes in the city where all the services are would go up and urban Councillors are not going to allow that to happen. We continue to work away at this issue to try to bring some fairness to the mix.
DISTRICT BOUNDARY REVIEW
DISTRICT BOUNDARY REVIEW - This issue has just begun to be mentioned in the media and so you are aware. The HRM is mandated by the Province to review its governance and District Boundaries every 8 years and this review is due by the end of 2010. I have volunteered to represent our Community Council on this Committee as I feel the matter is urgent for our District. This review will determine the future size of Council, size of Districts and boundary lines of Districts as well as Governance issues. As a member of this Committee I am committed to being neutral and & fair while we listen to residents comments and opinions on these issues and I certainly hear your comments pretty well every day in this regard. Stage One covers Governance, powers of Community Councils, Committee’s etc and there will be 7 Public Meetings in February on these issues. Our Community Council gets two of these (Sheet Harbour & Lawrencetown) and there will be a second set of Hearings in early Fall and one of those will be held here in this District. Please come out and attend these meetings and give your informed opinion, there will be changes virtually no matter what. The current mandate says that all Districts are supposed to be within 10% of each other on population, right now we have 22,000 people in this District while a number of City Districts are down around 13,000 or 14,000 – that cannot continue.
FALL RIVER REC CENTRE - The HRM has decided that the Fall River Rec Centre should be run by a Community Volunteer Board instead of the HRM, much like the Beaver Bank one is operated. After some discussions and negotiations I am completely in support of this plan but to make it work we urgently need volunteers to come forward who care for the community and will run this in the best interests of all. Ads are being placed with local media outlets and please call me if you have any interest or questions. The first step is that we need a Steering Committee of 3 residents who will work with HRM Staff to do the Board Selection Process, you will need to commit to one meeting a week from mid March through to the end of April, application deadline is February 19th. We are looking for people who have some of the following attributes:
– involved in various aspects of volunteer service
– human resources knowledge
– leadership skills
– committed to benefits of recreation
Please call me if interested, I have information and application packages.
HRM SURVEY - By now over 1,000 residents of District Two have received the HRM Service Survey & I implore you to take the time, fill it out and send it in. While they are long they are very comprehensive and I can guarantee you that they will help to shape the future of this District and the HRM. I will be reviewing the results from this District and it will definitely have an impact on knowing how you wish me to represent you in the future, please fill them out and get them in.
AREA TRAFFIC STUDY - This Monday, Jan 18th the consultants that have been studying traffic issues in this District from Waverley thru Fall River and up into Grand Lake will be presenting their report to the Fall River Vision Committee. This report includes many suggestions and solutions, both short & long term to area traffic woes and it covers roads and highways owned or operated by both the Province and the HRM. Once its presented to the Vision Committee, HRM & the Province it will go to HRM & Provincial Depts for review and will go to HRM Council for acceptance in February at which time it will be released to the media and to the public. I have already requested HRM Dept’s to set up a Public Meeting in the area probably in March and we will post the place and date in all local media outlets.
DEVASTATION IN HAITI - Last week a horrendous and devastating earthquake struck Haiti and we have all seen the tragic circumstances there. In times like this Canadians have always come thru by opening their hearts & wallets to help out. I am aware our local Fall River Lions Club has already sent a cheque for $500.00 to Lions International to help out and this week the Lions Christmas Express is sending another $500.00m thru the local Red Cross as our Federal Gov’t is matching all donations up to $50 million. I am also aware the LWF Community Hall is donating proceeds from the upcoming Super Bowl party. If you have the ability please extend a helping hand to aid the residents of Haiti.
Warmest regards, Barry
