— aS

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- The Terrace Review asked:

Lorna Taft

Education. Children and
youth today are the citizens
and decision-makers of
tomorrow. They need as
many advantages as possi-
ble. Also, ‘the old people
should get a break afier pay-
ing into the system for so
many years. They shouldn't
have to pay for medical or
other necessary services.

Sandy Norman
The province could do

something about our roads.
We live on a gravel road out-

side the city limits and It’s

pretty bad. Lo

Clarence - Danse

By employing ‘fewer MP's.

‘How do you think
your tax dollars
could be better spent?

Lloyd Parker

By spending a little less on
politics. .

Linda Lee
More education spending.

Lake services already contracted

Recent news that services at
all provincial campgrounds will
be contracted out by 1990 will
make little difference at Lakelse
Lake. According to Parks and
Outdoor Recreation Visitor Ser-
vices Coordinator Ken Zimmer
of Smithers, most services at the
Furlong Bay Campsite at
Lakelse Lake campsite have
been contracted out for more
than two years.

Zimmer said these services
have been and will continue to
be monitored on a regular basis
by spot checks. ‘‘Nothing is left

_ to slide,”’ he said. ‘‘We try to

stay on top of things right
through the entire season.’’
In addition, Zimmer said

“Visitor Comment Cards” pro-
vide further monitoring of camp
services and also provide
valuable information as to what
changes the public would like to
see in provincial campsites.

Two exceptions to the con-
tracting out of services at
Lakelse Lake are fee collections
and park security. But Zimmer
says the Ministry of Environ-
ment and Parks. will probably
continue to provide park securi-
ty, and when fee collection ser-
vices are contracted out it will
probably attract no more atten-
tion than services such as
firewood supply, garbage
pickup and camp maintenance
i

Quiet summer expected

- Skeena Parks and Outdoor
Recreation Visitor Services
Coordinator Ken Zimmer pro-
mises a quiet summer of family
camping at the Furlong Bay
Campsite at Lakelse Lake. He
said he could make this predic-
tion because there is no an-
ticipated fee increase over the
current $7 per night, the Nature
Interpretation Programs will
likely be re-introduced, and
noisy campers will continue to
be charged by ministry staff.
Zimmer says that the noise
problem at Furlong Bay was
reduced last summer when
ministry staff were given the
power to lay charges and issue
tickets for any violation of the
Park Act or its regulations.
“That’s made quite a dif-

ference,’’ he said. “‘We seem to
be getting more family use now
and we have less of a problem.”’
And he said the enforcement of
the Park Act is being emphasiz-
ed this spring through a two-day
‘‘Enforcement Training
Seminar’,

**The division is very keen on
maintaining that high profile of
enforcement and security,”: said
Zimmer.

Adding to the enjoyment of
the park this summer, says Zim-
mer, will be the return of Nature
Interpretation Programs, back
due to public demand and the
fact that the ministry has ‘been

He said the “statements of
work’’ and the writing of legal
documents are presently under-
way for fee collections, but a
timetable for making the change
had not yet been determined.

He said that when fee collec-
tion services were contracted
out, the contractor will be iden-
tifiable by shoulder flashes and a
photo identification badge for
security purposes. Also, in order
to maintain the traditional level
of service, the contractor's
phone number as well as the
“‘satisfaction guarantee’’ listing
the address and phone number
of the Ministry’s District
Manager will be posted at the in-
formation shelter.

at Furlong

able to set aside a little bit of
money”’,

““We've had several requests
through the comment cards,”’
explained Zimmer, “so we're
going to give it another shot this
year if we can and we’re going to
be looking for someone to run
the program several times during
the week over the course of the
summer,’’

He said the programs include
nature walks and talks, and he
hopes that one of two new picnic

‘Shelters presently under con-

struction could be closed off on
one side to provide an area dark

enough for slide presentations.
ean

635-317

A Bereavement Support Group meeting every Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Knox. vated Church, 4907 Lazelle Ave. For more information hone

a

Terrace Review — Wednesday, April 27, 1988 5

} Nochange apparent
| in revenue sharing

TERRACE ~— The gap has nar-

‘rowed a bit but it’s still not fair,

says city treasurer Keith Nor-
man. He was referring to the
revenue sharing grant given to
B.C. communities each year by
the provincial government.

The city of Terrace wrote
Minister of Municipal Affairs
Rita Johnston last year com-
plaining that Kitimat received
$544,000 while Terrace only

-Teceived $468,000. This may

seem fair, because with a
population difference of some-
thing in the neighborhood of
2,000 people at that time, Ter-
race received about $42.54 for
every resident while Kitimat only
received about $41.85.

But according to Norman,
there were vast differences be-
tween the two communities and
their ability to raise tax dollars
that were not taken into con-
sideration by the provincial for-
mula. And the main difference
he said, was the rich tax base
found in Alcan and Eurocan.

““We were concerned that
because they (Kitimat) had the
big assessment base, they were
getting more money,” he ex-
plained. And Johnston's reply,
“‘Fighty percent of the grant is
based on population and after
that it is based on municipal ex-
penditures,”? didn’t relieve his
concern,

*‘It doesn’t make sense,’’ said
Norman, “because the ‘have’
communities get as much as the
‘have not’ communities,

“We've got similar popula-
tions and they’ ve got a three-to-
one ratio in assessment base. I
think’ this (the industrial tax
base) should have more weight
than it does and it shouldn’t be
based strictly on the population
— because population doesn't
really mean that much, It

doesn’t tell you what kind of tax
base you have.”’

And how did we make out this
year? About the same, but the
gas has narrowed, says Norman.

The formula remains the same
in spite of the complaints, but
because Kitimat’s population
has -dropped slightly they lost
some of their advantage.
Terrace received $524,127
($56,127 more than last year)
and Kitimat received $556,542.

The main significance of this,
says Norman, is that the grant
provides only about eight per-
cent (the balance comes from the
taxpayer) of Terrace’s $7 million
annual budget while we search
for dollars for new pavement —
and Kitimat is sitting with a rich
industrial tax base and doesn’t’
really need the money,

The fault, he says, lies in the
mystery of the provincial for-
mula which is divided into two
grants: a basic grant and an un-
conditional grant.

The basic grant is to provide
for administration costs and is
distributed on the basis of an in-
dividual community’s tax
revenue — both industrial and
residential. And this is fine,
Norman says: we received
$60,000 while Kitimat only
received $40,000.

As explained by Johnston’s
letter, ‘‘Your per capita assess-
ment is less than the provincial
average, making you eligible for
an enriched grant, and they
(Kitimat) are ineligible.”

But Norman says this doesn’ t
apply to the unconditional grant

which. is the lion's share. Eighty

percent of it is simply based on
population. And, says Norman,
‘They get more. And that just
doesn’t make sense. What we’re
gaining on the small one we’re
losing on the other one.’’

YOU BET
WE'RE
COMPETITIVE

ALPINE CAR STEREO

1 YEAR, NO INTEREST

SIGHT CG SOUND

TERRACE

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