et = LOWER MAINLAND When Vancouver city council had its first debate on the 1985 operating budget on Feb. 13, the battle lines quickly became clear. This year’s budget will amount to about $285 million. Our revenues will be an estimated $7.7 million short. The problem is how to meet this shortfall. Last year, and the year before, city council met such shortfalls by transfer- ring a portion of the annual interest the city earns on its property endowment fund to the operating budget. That’s one of the reasons why the endowment fund was created — to meet emergencies such as these when economic times are bad. We didn’t use any of the principal in the fund, just some of the interest. That way we were able to maintain staff and services and also keep taxes down. Right-wing aldermen fought this tooth and nail. They wanted to cut city staff and cut city services. They wanted to apply Premier Bennett’s restraint pro- gram on the city. But the labor-backed majority on council (the Committee of Porgressive Electors’ adlermen and Mayor Mike Harcourt’s independents) won the battle. We didn’t cut staff; we didn’t cut services; we kept tax increases to a minimum; and we kept the city’s triple A credit rating. This year it seems we will have to fight the same battle all over again. This in spite of the fact that the labor-backed majority won its victory at the polls on form of no cuts and no restraint. When council’s standing committee on finance and administration, of which I am chairman, brought in its report recommending that current standards of service be maintained, the NPA-TEAM- Socred aldermen began sniping away at It. Ald. George Puil said he couldn’t see why we should always assume that cur- rent levels of service be maintained and vacant positions filled. He claimed that using interest from the property endow- ment fund to meet revenue shortfalls created a false picture of city finances. Ald. May Brown moved that “there be no transfer of funds from the property endowment fund income ,to the 1985 revenue budget” but it was not put to a vote. | Nov. 17 and again on Feb. 2, on a plat- charged that the progressive majority on The NPA-TEAM-Socred aldermen Balanced budget keeps jobs and lowers taxes council was tying the hands of the city administration by not letting it come in with its own ideas and options on how to balance the budget. My reply to that is simply this: the mayor and aldermen are elected to make policy and the job of the city adminsitration is to carry out that policy, which it is doing. The NPA-TEAM-Socred aldermen also tried to picture themselves as defending homeowners against efforts by the labor-backed majority to raise taxes. But we pointed out that the steps we had taken in the past and proposed to take this year were precisely the kind of steps that would not only maintain servi- ces at present levels but also keep tax increases to a minimum. It was also evident at this city council meeting that the NPA-TEAM-Socred aldermen, while favoring cuts in staff and services, were afraid to come right out and say so. They didn’t tell council how many libraries and community centres they wanted closed or how many city Harry Rankin employees, inside and outside, they wanted to fire. They knew quite well that any such steps would lead to widespread protests. What they would like to-do is have the administration come out with such proposals. I should also point out that the reason city revenues are not enough to meet budget requirements is because big industrial and commercial properties in Vancouver do not pay their fair share of taxes, since their properties are greatly under-assessed. For this the provincial government, which appoints the B.C. Assessment Authority, is directly responsible. This is a problem which city council will have to tackle sooner or later. In the meantime we can maintain staff, maintain services and keep our taxes down by using a small part of the interest that has accumulated in the property endowment fund. This is what we: promised the voters of Vancouver and this is what we will deliver. “4 Partisan division | absent as speakers hit education cuts — Continued from page 1 trustees the option to hold “‘phony referen- dums that tax homeowners twice without doing a thing for education. “The boards’ only powers are those that enable them to do the provincial govern- ment’s dirty work, like firing teachers,” Kilian said. Kilian received his biggest applause when he denounced Education Minister Jack Heinrich’s recent fine of $300,000 levied on the Delta school board, which last year was forced into cost overruns of more than $600,000. (Last week the minister announced the fine which, combined with the unfunded deficit from 1984 and a cut of the same amount this year, will put the district $1.59 million in the red. The overrun, created by a board noted for its fiscal conservatism and basically pro-restraint attitude, is not con- nected with the current action by six boards defying the ministry’s 1985-86 cutbacks. But the severity of the penalty has led educa- tion leaders to conclude it is a warning to trustees who deliberately budget more than the province allows.) . The audience gave a three-minute stand- ing ovation to Delta parents holding aloft a placard declaring opposition to the minis- try’s fine and budget cuts. Kilian urged letter-writing and protests “to help clear the poisoned atmosphere and help restore democracy.” Parent Pamela Clark from West Van- couver also hit the referendum notion, recalling that a failed referendum under former schools legislation in 1971 resulted in cuts to schools in her affluent district. Reading from an “open letter to Premier Bennett” Clark also hit the “charade” of the education ministry’s “Let’s Talk About Schools” debates. Stating that many West Vancouver par- ents have “given up” and have sent their children to private schools, she declared t« applause, “This is no doubt the hidde:: agenda of your (Bennett’s) government.” In a similar open letter to Heinrich, Grade 12 student Ian MacInnes said educa- tion cuts to post-secondary institutions meant he would not be attending university in B.C. next year. _ students “pledge to fight these cutbacks in a long time. Tribune’s 50th anniversary. and 39 respectively. It’s said that our friends rally around us during hard times. If such is the case, then it’s not surprising that the 1984-85 winter subscription drive was the success it turned out to be. It’s also said that times of struggle increase the readership of papers like the Tribune. And that’s most likely the case, because the past sub drive has seen the best increase in Tribune readership Spurred on by civic elections, the triumph of the COPE-Unity byelection for Bruce Yorke, the schools fight or working in the labor movement, the paper’s supporters worked hard to spread the circulation, bringing in a total of 415 new subscriptions. With gains in both renewals and the new subscriptions, our friends have already provided a fitting complement to the Taking top honors among our press clubs is Trail. The club wins the provincial shield, surpassing its renewal target of 19 subs with 22 achieved, joined by 29 new readers. The Burnaby club wins the Greater Vancouver region shield with, 34 renewals and 32 new subscriptions. Honorable mention goes to the Kingsway and Vancouver East press clubs, the former achieving 42 renewals and 43 new subs, and the latter scoring 52 Sub victory marks 50th year Special mention goes to the Kamloops club for its much improved effort of 10 renewals and 24 new subs, and to Victoria, which surpassed its target of 27 renewals by taking 32, with 24 new subscriptions. Winners of the top prize for individual effort are Elmer Pontius, press director of the Trail press club, who sold 20 new subs, as did Al Young of Vancouver East. They share the gift certificates from the People’s Co-op Bookstore. Sy Pederson of Campbell River takes the third prize for selling 15 subs. Special mention goes to Miguel Figueroa of Kingsway and Gudrun Doherty of Victoria, each of whom sold 14 subs, followed by Chuck Winslow who sold 11. Tying at 10 new subs each are Val Carey and Hazel Wigdor. Those achievements we know will impel our readers and supporters to achieve new heights in the upcoming 50th anniversary financial drive. We'll be marking those 50 years of fighting for B.C.’s working people with a special banquet Mar. 23, at the Holiday Inn on West Broadway Street in Vancouver. And with the spirit everyone has shown promoting the Tribune so far, we know we'll have something to celebrate. .13 meeting with parents’ representatives, to 2 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 27, 1985 CRAWFORD KILIAN. . .referendums for homeowner school tax “phony.” BOB WALKER. . .schools need adequate funding, period. ; Adele Perry of Students Alliance for Vancouver Education said the secondary with all our strength, and we’re proud to have the support of our parents.” _ : Bob Walker from Simon Fraser Univer- sity’s education faculty said the govern- ment’s continued emphasis on “financial formulas” for schools “is really a way of talking about cutting back.” Parents voted unanimously for a series of resolutions calling on the province to “res- tore autonomy (taxing authority for com- mercial properties and other powers)” to” local boards, to “supply the resources necessary to meet educational needs,” to repeal Bill 48, and on local boards to ignore - the bill’s provisions and submit budgets for 1985-86 that reflect the districts’ real needs” instead of following Victoria’s cutbacks. An additional motion pledged the rally’s” support to the Delta community in the fight" against the ministry’s financial penalties. Rally chairman Chris Taulu, ina Feb. 19° statement on behalf of the Defend Educa- tion Services Coalition, criticized the schools debate as a “‘farce...when (the government) pull(s) out their ready-made answers in the form of Bill 48.” 4 Taulu also accused six Socred MLAs of reneging on an agreement, following a Feb. intervene and attempt to table Bill 48.