Another milking of the cash cow.

Councillor Malerby's passionate speech at the last Council meeting was impressive as far as it went. However, I see no evidence to support her contention that Council had major debates over the budget and "combed the budget up and down" to whittle it down to 9.17%. Council minutes do not contain any record of serious debates. Coldstream has no finance committee where they generally debate issues relating to the budget. Since budget issues are not issues for in-camera debates it is unlikely that it was debated in-camera. Where did the great debates take place then? Perhaps Council can enlighten us taxpayers.

Councillor Malerby is probably right that staff made the best effort of what they had to work with. However, there are important issues that need to be understood. The budget is just the final product of decisions Council made during their terms in office. Those decisions come back as liabilities at budget time. Every time money issues come before Council each Councillor must consider how their decision will affect the eventual budget. The $8,000 grant awarded to the Women's Curling championship represented a third of a percent tax increase. Grants to the Film Commission and to the O'Keefe Ranch were also expenditures that had little benefit to Coldstream taxpayers. I am sure there were many other grants here and there that could have been saved at the time decisions had to be made.

Increases to fees are also debatable. Consider the sewer rate increases. The previous Council decided to empty the reserves of the Sewer Capital Fund when they awarded the sewer extension contract as their last action in Council. The new Council did not have to honour that contract. The present increase of $28 per household would yield about $56,000 for the District. If the $650,000 was not spent on the sewer extension project we would not have needed a sewer rate increase for years (at the $56,000 basis we would not need rate increases for over 11 years).

The additional expenditure of $265,000 for the buyout of the latecomer fees is another reason sewer rates are going up (an additional 4 years could have been without increase).

Who should have paid for the sewer extension? The developer who needed the extension for his project (Coldstream Meadows). There was precedence for that: when Trintec developed the Inverness Drive subdivision the developer had to pay for the nearly 1.5 km long sewer line, lift station and sundry expenses. This development had under 50 lots while Coldstream Meadows have well over 100 lots. Growth should not cost taxpayers, growth should benefit taxpayers. Council provided a privilege to the developer, taxpayers should have received something in return. A 9.17% tax increase coupled with a 5.2% sewer rate increase and an unknown percentage of (5-7%?) increase in water rate is a big bite to swallow.

Taxpayers of most other communities would be up in arms if they faced a 9.17% tax hike. It is surprising that Coldstream taxpayers take this increase so calmly.

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