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British Columbia

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Activists launch mass assessment appeal

Despite a protest by city fire fighters
and the support of several federal elec-
tion candidates for reinstatement of
Vancouver’s mothballed fire boat, Van-
couver city council Tuesday squelched
an attempt to resurrect the vessel.

Aldermen voted 9-2 to postpone the
question of reinstating the fire boat and
cancelling its sale until January, well
after the Nov. 19 civic election.

In deferring a motion by Ald. Bruce
Eriksen of the Committee of Progressive
Electors, council denied members of the
Vancouver Fire Fighters Union the
opportunity to address the question of
port safety, and other cutbacks in city
fire fighting which they say have caused
increased fire damage in the past year.

Union president Bing Pare said later
he was a “little disappointed” in council’s
action, particularly since Ald. Don Bel-
lamy, a member of the ruling Non-
Partisan Association who moved the
deferment, had opposed cancelling the
port’s only fire fighting boat. Ald. Jona-

of the cutback, voted with his NPA col-
leagues for the deferment.

Eriksen charged that Bellamy “has
double-crossed the fire fighters union.”
He said it was clear the aldermen had
supported deferment because they did
not want to sully the NPA’s image prior
to the civic election.

Eriksen’s motion, supported by COPE
alderman Libby Davies, stated that since
an election was to be held, council should
“withdraw the fire boat from the market
in order to allow the voters and the 1989
city council to decide its fate.”

The NPA-dominated city council shut
down the fire boat and reduced fire
department pumper crews to four from
five fire fighters in its controversial $5-
million cutbacks package introduced
shortly after the city budget was adopted
last year.

Eriksen noted that the NPA had said
nothing about its cutback plans prior to
the 1986 civic election, and is trying to
avoid making an unpopular cutback an
issue in this election.

Vancouver fire fighters on Monday
held a morning demonstration outside
Allied Shipyards in North Vancouver,
where the fire boat is berthed awaiting
tenders. Several area New Democratic

than Baker, another declared opponent -

Firefighters union president Bing Pare at demonstration Monday.

NPA snubs protest
over fire boat sale

Party candidates and a Liberal, along
with COPE and Civic New Democrat
candidates, attended.

Pare, and union vice-president Dave
Mitchell, showed a union study detailing
Vancouver Port traffic, fire accidents
requiring the boat since 1960, and fire
boat services in other North American
cities.

Mitchell, who said selling the fire boat
was “insane,” noted that with 15-20 fire
boats along the United States’ west coast,
“they obviously don’t think (fire boats)
are going out of style.” He said that Seat-
tle, which already has two fire-fighting
vessels, is looking for a third, and is con-
sidering purchasing the Vancouver boat.

Mitchell said the Vancouver Port area
has 14 wooden docks — not one, as
claimed by NPA Ald. George Puil — and
that many, including the dangerous
goods transhipment dock belonging to
Burlington Northern Railway in east
Vancouver, are inaccessible to fire
trucks.

The union vice-president also pointed
out that during the rupture in the water
main to Vancouver in December, 1986,
fire hydrants in the west end were dry
and the only available alternative for fire
fighting was the boat.

Of equal importance is the loss of one
fire fighter in the department’s pumper
crews, Pare said in an interview.

The cutback has meant escalating
damage from fires in the past year, he
said.

Pare said the department still responds
in 3-4 minutes to an alarm, but the shor-
tage means back-up crews must be
called, adding an extra 6-7 minutes to the
response time.

“Tn the past eight months we have had
6-8 multiple alarm fires, considerably
more than in the past 10 years,” Pare
said.

TRIBUNE PHOTO — DAN KEETON

Calling it a 20-per-cent reduction in -

the work force, Pare said the loss of the
fifth fire fighter, the one who used to
carry the first hose to a fire, means a
30-45 second delay, “and with that,
you’ve got a problem.”

Noting many east side residents can-
not afford costly fire insurance, he said
the city fire department “‘is the only insu-
rance they have.”

2 « Pacific Tribune, October 31, 1988

Community activists in Vancouver and
Burnaby have launched class appeals
against assessments that will see residential
property taxes soar while industrial and
commercial enterprises enjoy a new round.
of tax breaks. “

Former alderman Bruce Yorke announ-
ced his appeal in a hand-delivered letter to
Harry Jones, area assessor of the B.C.
Assessment Authority, last week. Econo-
mist David Fairey has launched a mass
appeal on behalf of Burnaby ratepayers
through the community organization,
Operation Fightback.

They say homeowners should not be the
victims of the current round of land specula-
tion that has artificially jacked up property
values in Vancouver and surrounding
municipalities.

Yorke, an aldermanic candidate in this
year’s civic race for the Committee of Pro-
gressive Electors, said 500 Vancouver
homeowners have appealed their assess-
ments — but that to be really effective, “we
need about 3,000 appeals.”

“We call on individuals to make appeals
also,” he said. In 1982, some 4,000 Van-
couver property owners forced the author-
ity to lower assessments in a mass action
which Yorke helped lead.

Land speculation is held at least partially
responsible for the astronomical increase in
housing prices that have seen residential
property values in the city increase by an
average 35.5 per cent this year.

The west side of Vancouver, with expen-
sive homes that have been target of much of
the speculation, has suffered the most, with
some property owners experiencing assess-
ment hike of close to 90 per cent.

Not all west side residents are wealthy.
Bob Lane, who lives in Shaughnessy near
Kerrisdale, is on a retirement income along
with his wife, Helen. They have seen the
property they purchased for $17,000 in 1957
double in assessed value in the past year, to
a value of more than $400,000.

“The fact is, there are a lot of working
people there and people on fixed incomes
who can’t afford the taxes,” said Lane, not-
ing that many of his neighbours have seen
their assessments soar 75 per cent.

“(Mayor Gordon) Campbell and his
(Non-Partisan Association) council could
have launched this appeal themselves. They
haven’t however, so it’s up to us,” Yorke
said.

ELP says fight
GAIN cutback

B.C.’s major anti-poverty coalition is urg-
ing all those who face a reduction of $50 in
their monthly GAIN cheque to appeal the
cut.

End Legislated Poverty has criticized
Minister of Social Services and Housing
Claude Richmond for re-classifying some
20,000 welfare recipients as employable,
which means. a $50-cut to this month’s
cheques.

“People who appeal the cutback could
win retroactive payments if we’re successful
in appealing,” ELP spokesman Jean Swan-
son said Monday.

The policy change redefines many single
parents as employable, and requires a phy-
sician’s certificate. Previously, the definition
was at the discretion of social workers.

ELP is distributing a special appeal form
to all welfare advocates in the province.

“The government will get $12 million of
the $20-million cost of its so-called Family
Program by taking this $50 from the poor-
est people,” Swanson charged.

“The cuts will take food from the mouths
of hungry children and adults and make it
harder for low-income families to stay
together,” she said.

Yorke dismissed the mayor’s assurances
that even if assessments do go up, taxes will
not necessarily increase dramatically.

Taxes are set according to the city’s
budgetary needs by multiplying the assessed
value of land times the mill rate. While the
city can tinker with the mill rate, it cannot
differentiate the rate within a given class of
property, Yorke noted.

“The fact is, taxes for those at least above
the average are going to rise, some astro
nomically. It is a regressive form of taxa-
tion,” he said.

“People will be paying more taxes for the
same, or less, services.”

In launching his class action appeal to the
authority’s court of revision last week, Fat
rey blamed provincial government reduc
tions on industrial and commercial properly
taxes. This year it limited tax hikes to 20 pet
cent. .

Both Yorke and Fairey call for an end to
corporate property tax cuts, and demand
that power to tax such properties bé
returned to local school boards.

They also demand an increase in the
homeowner grant, which has been frozen al
$380 since 1979. Yorke said the grant
should be indexed yearly, and start this yea!
at $678.

Residents may appeal property assess
ments under Section 40-1(c) of the B.C:
‘Assessment Act, and must do so by Oct. 31.
Those who wish to join Yorke’s appeal may
register their name and address at COPE'’s
campaign office.

If the appeal is denied, it can be taken t0
the B.C. Supreme Court for a judicial
review, Yorke said.

In a letter to court of revision on Tues”
day, Yorke sought the authority’s assistance
in providing information for the appeal. He

_asked for the number of residential prope!

ties, broken down by the city’s 22 neigh-
bourhoods, and the actual dollar value of
sales made in each district.

Yorke told the authority: “With the data
I have requested, every citizen can really
judge its fairness. Without it, he or she §
rather helpless.

“T would suspect, but do not know, that
the vast majority of homes have not bee?
sold during the past two years. People want
stability and equity and do not want to be al
the mercy of real estate interests,” he wrote.

Yorke also asked that the court of revi
sion hold all hearings at night, so that all
homeowners can attend.

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