Sunday, March 7, 2010

Selected articles -- Morning Star, March 7, 2010.



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These two articles deserve further examination. We know that we'll need a certain sum of money to meet our financial obligations. The Figure below is an estimate of our budget.


Pay attention to the line "Fees, charges & other income": $9,892,576. That's how much money is needed from water fees to cover expenditures.

Based on the two news articles above we might start Stage two water restrictions immediately. That means we'll have fewer days to water, hence even without water use reduction due to price increases we'll have difficulty meeting our fiscal objectives.

The Table below demonstrates the expected consequences of reduced sprinkling days.


If there will be further reduction of income due to lower water consumption we will have a major problem. This problem further demonstrates the need for a reformed financing alternative using taxation to cover our mortgage.

The debt payment from the above budget table stands $2,680,961 for 2010. That would be approximately 0.3 mill rate ($30 for each $100,000 value). Compare this to the mill rate for Parks and Recreation at 1.252 (on improvements only, empty lots do not contribute), Multiuse at 0.3718 and Theatre at 0.2039. With these facilities we are being taxed for the operations and maintenance as well (even subsidize organizations by guaranteeing ticket sales).

As always, I must emphasize that these are my ideas only and do not represent my Council in any way!

Have an opinion? Share it with me by dropping a line!

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Coldstream Ratepayers News! All Coldstream residents are ratepayers!

The opinions expressed by "Coldstreamer" are strictly his own and do not represent the opinions of Coldstream Council!

Because I value your thoughtful opinions, I encourage you to add a comment to this discussion. Don't be offended if I edit your comments for clarity or to keep out questionable matters, however, and I may even delete off-topic comments.

Gyula Kiss
coldstreamer@shaw.ca;

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About Me

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I have been a resident of Coldstream since 1976. I have had 15 years of experience on Council, 3 years as Mayor. As a current Councillor I am working to achieve fair water and sewer rates and to ensure that taxpayers get fair treatment. The current direction regarding water supply is unsustainable and I am doing all I can to get the most cost effective water supply possible.