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I would first like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I know the year
ahead will be busier with increased activity at City Hall. We are
already getting plans for subdivisions as well as people making their
arrangements for new construction. The next step in the Mt. Mackenzie
approval process is for the Master Development Agreement to be finalized
and signed. This agreement will tell the Province and the community how
the project will unfold and what areas construction will start.
There have been a lot of
concerns and questions raised over the residential property assessments
that were recently mailed out. Firstly, the City does not raise and
lower property assessments, this is done by the British Columbia
Assessment Authority (BCAA). If your assessment goes up 22% it does not
mean that your taxes will go up 22%. Early in the New Year the City
works out its budget for the coming year and any increases that it needs
to run the City. To raise the amount of money needed from residential
taxation, Council sets a tax rate which is applied to the residential
assessment base for the entire City. This same rate is applied to each
individual residential property assessment to determine how much you
pay. So, if the average residential property assessment increased by
22%, but Council didn’t require any more money than in 2004 to balance
the budget, they would lower the tax rate accordingly. In this scenario,
if your assessment went up more than 22%, your taxes would go up a
little more than the previous year, whereas if your assessment increase
is lower than the average, your taxes would be less than last year. The
same method is used for all other classes of assessment (business,
industry etc).
Bear in mind that this
example is used for explanation purposes only. The 2005 budget is yet to
be finalized and, at a minimum, taxpayers can expect a tax increase
related to Phase II of the Indoor Pool project financing. This increase
relates to the original Indoor Pool budget, not the revised costs.
Council intends to fund the increased costs without increasing taxation.
If you have questions about your assessment you should call BCAA. Any
tax questions can be directed to City Hall.
Council at the last
meeting voted unanimously to send $1.00 per person to the Tsunami relief
fund through the Canadian Red Cross which will total $8000.00. There was
some discussion if municipal governments should be donating tax dollars
to something like this. With 155,000 people dead, all levels of
government, and those individuals that can help should. I would rather
be criticized for doing something to help than doing nothing. This
donation will come out of Council Contingency which means council has
$8,000.00 less to spend in the coming year.
The indoor aquatic centre
continues to move closer to completion. Having toured the facility in
the last week I am even more impressed with how it is coming together.
I’m looking forward to the opening so all the community can enjoy this
new recreational facility.
This past week saw the
community receive the Forest Capital of BC Award. I accepted this award
on behalf of all aspects of the forest industry. Revelstoke’s forest
industry plays a huge role in our economic base. It’s been here since
our inception and with the City’s involvement in the Forest Corporation
and now the Energy Corporation our reliance and commitment to forestry
is even more entrenched. Special thanks to the committee for putting
together a great proposal that won us this award as well as
congratulations to everyone that works in the forest industry. I had the
pleasure of accepting this award on your behalf.
I would like to close by
offering a couple of websites for people to look at for more
information. The first one is the City’s website
www.cityofrevelstoke.com. Check out the
online survey. The second one is
www.revelstokemountainresort.com for information on the ski development.
Mark McKee, Mayor
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