The Issues The Way I See Them (In no particular order of importance. This is a work in progress, is and always will be, so visit often)
Let me just state at the outset that I'm a firm believer in not "Re-inventing the wheel." Before we go and invest a lot of time, energy and money on a project or issue lets check with other municipalities to see how or what they are doing in that particular area.
I would also like to re-iterate part of my platform; I WILL not make any grandiose promises that can't be kept. One must be reasonable about what can, and can not be done. There are a few candidates stating they will cut property taxes, offer tax incentives to downtown businesses to incite revitalization. Then in their next breath they talk about providing more core funding to various non-profits and community groups.
Come on people, let's be reasonable. You can't have both. You can't decrease revenue and increase spending. It just doesn't work that way...
Let's DO think "Outside the box" however and look at perhaps spending some money investing in something that can actually make a return on the investment. I do have a few ideas that I'll share later. It's my entrepreneurial background coming out...
-
Property Taxes - This seems to be the one issue that most everyone mentions and complains about. Since moving here in February of 1990 I've heard that Mission has the highest tax rate in the lower mainland. Now I've also heard recently that Mission is in fact in the "Middle of the pack." So which is true? Well I've had a bit of a difficult time verifying either as Mission is NOT listed with the other Lower Mainland municipalities on the lists I have found thus far, so in short I am still digging into that.
How about "Just One Year" with NO tax increases? Wouldn't THAT be a breath of fresh air?
Update 31/10/2011 - Just received the following from a reader (Thanx Sharlene) and will compile into a format that I can share on this site shortly. But for those of you that want to "Play along at home" here is the message and the links she sent me.
Hello Mr. Hockridge,
I am a Mission resident and was reading your website as part of my due diligence process to decide who to vote for. I noticed you were looking for property tax statistics. As I'm a library technician and a MLIS student I can't help but to look up information when people ask (it's an occupational hazard). I would suggest that next time you are looking for information you cannot locate on Google, give your local librarian a try. They are often expert searchers as that is what many of us do for a living (I don't work in a public library myself though).
One note - the web pages are poorly designed and you need to scroll down part-way before you see the information (or perhaps it is not optimized for the browser I was using).
Cheers,
The particular statistics you are looking for
can be found at;
http://www.cscd.gov.bc.ca/lgd/infra/tax_rates/tax_rates2011.htm
More statistics can be found at:
http://www.cscd.gov.bc.ca/lgd/infra/statistics_index.htm
The statistics are from the The Ministry of
Community and Rural Development, Local Government Department, Local
Government Infrastructure & Finance Division:
http://www.cscd.gov.bc.ca/lgd/index.htm
Sharlene
Note from Paul
Anyone else having issues viewing? Please
let me know....
Update 31/10/2011 - Ok, below is a link to the spreadsheet of "2011 Tax Rates" with all cities removed other than those in the GVR and FVR. Mission IS the 4th highest Total Tax Rate. Certainly not the highest, but not "Middle of the Pack" either. Mission is highlighted in Yellow, lower cities in Light Blue and higher cities in Light Pink for ease in identifying. Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Hope are the only cities higher.
Update 01/11/2011 - Again, I've left just the GVR and FVR municipalities in and this is the REAL pertinent info regarding residential municipal taxes & charges in my honest opinion. It is the "Taxes and Charges on a Representative House." (Sample House) spreadsheet. Here we look better, being a tad closer to the side of the least expensive. Ranked 15th most expensive out of 27 actually, although it did slip 2 notches from the previous year's ranking of 17th.
704 - Taxes and Charges on a Representative House - 2011
And here are the 2010 figures if interested.
704 - Taxes and Charges on a Representative House - 2010
-
Economic Development - I'm not sure whether this is an issue or a vision actually. I'd like to see more "Businesses" arriving as it would accomplish 2 things. It would add much needed taxation revenue to the city coffers, and provide local jobs. One of the reasons we started our business here was because I was sick of losing 3 hrs per day commuting to the city.
There does appear to be quite a bit of light industry going into the industrial area and I've been told that just about all the lots are sold! We HAVE to continue to develop and expand the business community.
Some good reading on the District's website here, including a "Business needs in target sectors" final report done for the communities of Mission, Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
http://www.mission.ca/work/economic-development/ -
The Waterfront - The development of our waterfront is of utmost importance in my opinion. To me this has the possibility of being the Jewel of Mission. This IS an area that is "Prime Real Estate" (Although some of it does need "some cleaning up") and as such, municipal halls and other such government offices needn't be there. There is also the matter of the Provincial regulations regarding building on a floodplain to consider among other things that MUST be done with due diligence. I really DO like the sound of this plan found on the District website and would like to see it expedited, although it MUST be done appropriately;
Imagine waking to the cry of the gulls wheeling over the river. Dressing quickly in your spacious condo, you walk to your favourite coffee shop for breakfast. Your village neighbourhood, tasteful and welcoming, is a walker’s haven, and you say good morning to friends heading to the nearby West Coast Express train station for the easy commute into Vancouver. ...more
-
Spending at City Hall - Some say that it is out of control, but when I'm elected I WILL DO EVERYTHING within my power to insure that it is NOT! It's imperative that a close watch needs to be be done on finances and reckless spending does indeed need to be eradicated. Plus we do need to get the best "Bang for our tax dollar" in things that we do need to procure.
I would also like to see and encourage that as much of our cities budget be spent locally as possible. Even if it is marginally more expensive, the money spent will then stay in and help to nurture our local economy.
Case in point; Several years back our company was awarded the contract to supply city hall with new computers. I was NOT the cheapest, BUT did provide systems beyond the minimum specifications requested while staying within the budget provided. Plus we also agreed to take back the old systems in trade, (Something that no other vendors offered). On top of all that we also agreed to donate 20 of those used systems back to community groups and non-profits within Mission. So all in all a "Win Win" for the City! -
Difficult to do Business With - I have heard on occasion that the Bureaucracy at city hall can be rather daunting to say the least. I do like what has been started with the new "A-Team" and feel that it should be expanded and nurtured. It's all about being responsive to the needs and making things happen. More about this new "A-Team" as it develops.
I was told by a member of the Economic Development Committee that the new Communications Officer hired by the District of Mission is also tasked with the responsibility of improving communication within departments and is NOT simply "Council's Spin Doctor." -
In Camera Meetings - There has been quite a bit of "Noise" about all the "Secret Meetings" which are actually "In Camera Meetings." These meetings are dealing with subjects that CAN NOT be public knowledge, due to legal proceedings, employee matters, (Privacy Laws!), etc. For example; if the District was looking to purchase some land for whatever reason, can you imagine what would happen to the price of said land? It would suddenly escalate and how does that help to keep our taxes in line. What IS reprehensible is that some of this "In Camera" information was leaked by someone. That just CAN NOT happen in the future. http://www.mission.ca/wp-content/uploads/110823-Leaks.pdf THAT is why HONESTY is paramount in your elected officials.
However once the "In Camera" topic for the meeting has been dealt with, it is imperative that the reason and outcome of said meeting be communicated to the citizens. Open and honest communication is one of my core values. I take great pride in my honesty and high ethical standards. Some say it's almost my weakness. -
Public Safety Inspection Team (PSIT) - Although I applaud the reason behind this, I can't help but think that it really didn't have the desired effect. The main problem as I see it is this; PSIT can be denied access to the "Suspect Property" when they show up to do that inspection. So then that property is served a warrant within 24 hours. More than enough time for that "Suspect Property" to "Get rid of the evidence." I'm fairly sure that they never did any arrests. The program has been deferred and perhaps should be totally closed down?
However other municipalities are in fact using some form of this with success and we should look into how it is working for them.
Perhaps it did have the desired effect? As I'm sure that some "Grow Ops" did get closed because of it even if there were no charges laid. Whether they are still closed or not, that I'm not sure of...
More info on the program can be found here. http://www.mission.ca/psit/
Update - I have been told that the real reason for these inspections was not to curtail "Grow-ops" but to actually insure the safety of the citizens. As Hydro reports that there is an unusual "Draw of Power" from a certain address it was then deemed necessary to do an inspection to said property to insure there are no safety issues concerned.
OK then, sounds good, but isn't that a bit expensive for an electrical inspection? -
P3 - Been doing my homework on this one as it is quite complex. P3s (Public-Private Partnerships) on the surface appear to be a good way to help governments to acquire infrastructure upgrades and replacements with less risk and costs. However each case needs to be looked at individually and a "One size fits all" doesn't necessarily apply.
Update - Where P3s currently pertain to Mission is in the "Stave Lake Water" proposal. Although it's nice to be able to get funds elsewhere, I feel that it shouldn't be at the cost of giving up our basic right to availability of water. The thing that concerns me the most is; what if the private partner should not be able to fulfill their obligations and go "Belly up?" Will the feds guarantee the project with financial backup? I know it's not exactly the same, but look what happened to the City of Vancouver with the 2010 Olympic village condos? We the residents of Mission can not afford to be on the hook for that kind of money!
And now GOVERNMENT OF CANADA AND CITY OF ABBOTSFORD TO INVEST IN STAVE
LAKE WATER PROJECT. They are going to referendum at the municipal election, are we going to bullied into it? Haven't heard anything about what happens to Mission in all this??? The only mention of us on there is this;"Will there be any potential issues with Abbotsford obtaining the required land and utility right-of-ways from Mission for the pipeline?
All land issues will be addressed as part of the development of the Stave Lake Project."
What the heck is THAT supposed to mean?
Some other websites to have a look at for reference
http://www.p3canada.ca/learn-about-p3s-overview.php
http://construction.about.com/od/Government/a/Public-Private-Partnership-Pros-And-Cons.htm
http://www.mission.ca/wp-content/uploads/Project-Story-Boards.pdf
Help me be "Eco-Friendly" and please share this site with someone you know that has the same values and wants to help to insure there will be a "Committed, Responsible and Honest Mission Councillor!"
Paul Hockridge, Committed to Working towards a Better Mission!
What Mission Is Saying About Paul;
(Hint; place cursor on scrolling text to pause..)