Taxpayer sick of being plucked
Dear mayor and council:
It’s time for North Cowichan council to hand homeowners the same tax break our industrial neighbours have enjoyed for years.
But even with that balancing act, hard questions would persist about how to reduce our overall tax load while maintaining service levels.
Council has largely failed to grow our economy with enough new businesses to broaden our tax base, thus reducing or nullifying annual levies in all tax classes.
Council seems good at cutting and taxing, but poor at adding more ducks to our municipality’s economic pen.
I’m sick of being plucked.
Council’s toolbox includes freezing staff wages, proactively sniffing for new businesses, and examining how other municipalities have faced the same dilemma while preserving their environment and lifestyle, and growing their bottom line.
Where is council’s entrepreneurial creativity beyond simply setting the table then waiting for new businesses to take seats?
North Cowichanians living on low or fixed incomes can ill afford more taxes.
Councillors should find ways to curb taxes in all classes or, given our October election, step aside to give fresh ideas a chance.
Peter W. Rusland
Duncan