Dear Editor:
The District of North Vancouver's proposal to charge residents of a specific area for local improvement projects such as traffic calming is nothing more than a new attempt to increase property taxes (DNV May Alter Traffic Calming Process, Dec. 11, North Shore News).
They suggest that if 60 per cent of the residents are in favour of the improvements then they will be done and charged to that individual area. I wonder if we, as taxpayers, would be allowed to approve with the same 60 per cent ratio all new staff hirings, administration expenses and other costs that arise in the district. Instead of looking to find efficiencies, they keep coming up with new and innovative ways of increasing taxes.
It is time to change this mentality.
Local improvements to garbage collection, roads and infrastructure are the expenses, between other things, that should be covered by more efficiently using our taxes.
Elias B. Merkins West Vancouver
