A? - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, Apri! 2, 2003

City to hold line on taxation

but warns of other increases

CITY COUNCIL is poised to pass another hold-the-line
budget but is warning taxpayers their bill in June may be

higher for other reasons.

Councillor Stew Christensen, sitting in for the mayor,
said the city will collect roughly the same amount of
property tax this year as last — just over $8 million:

But he said local taxpayers face a bigger bill because
of school property tax increases ordered by Victoria to
put extra money into’ education plus a higher regional
haspital charge to pay for part of the new Kitimat hospi-

tal,

“You may see an overall increase in your tax Dill,”
he said at a March 24 budget information session.

The cily also anticipates no payment of taxes by New
Skeena Forest Products this year.

If there’s no payment in 2003 and 2004, Christensen
said, the sawmill and associated properties will go into
the tax sale process — as required by law.

He said city budget belt-tightening has been driven by

restraint fram Victoria.

Transit subsidies are frozen, the city may lose up to
$153,000 this year in grants for housing prisoners at the
RCMP lockup, and unconditional grants from Victoria
have plunged $426,000 since 1996,

Despite the lean times, the city will still spend

Gov't wants partners to help children

THERE’S GOING to be a
big reliance on businesses
and non-profit groups to
support improvements in
programs for young child-
ren.

While non-profit agen-
cies may deliver the pro-
grams, the broader com-
munity will be asked to
contribute, says Linda
Reid, the provincial mini-
ster of state for early
childhood development.

“We're actively sup-
porting public private part-
nerships,” said Reid in an
interview last week of a
broad-based provincial
government plan called
the Children First Learning
Initiative.

She said it’s important
for the entire community
to realize that it will be in
far better shape the health-
ier a small child is and the
more ready that child is for
school.

As an example, Reid's
ministry is putling up $10
million in seed money for
projects and is hoping it'll
be iftreased to as much ‘as

$20 million by buy-ins
from businesses and com-
munity groups across B.C.

Credit Union Central of
British Columbia, the um-
brella group for credit un-
ions, has already signed
on.

Some of the provincial
money began as federal
money earmarked for early

money on capital projects this year,
Plans include spending $450,000 of city money plus
$900,000 in hoped-for federal-provincial grants on a sec-

ond water well.

The Green St. well would back up Frank St. and en-
sure the city doesn't have to use surface water at peak

times,

“If the well broke down, especially in August, we
would be hard pressed,” Christensen said.

Walsh Avenue from Kenney St. to Munroe is to be re-
built at a cost of $474,000 to mesh with the construction
of the new Skeena Junior Secondary School there.

And $225,000 is in the budget to move the George
Little house to the planned ‘Old Terrace’ section of
Kalum St. and begin the revitalization of that area. The
city hopes for grants totalling $600,000 to pay for most

of the work.

Legion Ave. is also to be paved at a cost of $111,000
and a pedestrian crossing at Keith Ave. and Hall St. plus
more sidewalk there is planned at a cost of $85,000.

Total city spending is forecast at just over $13 mil-
lion. Fees and sale of services are the city’s second lar-
gest source of income after property tax, at $1.8 million,

Policing is the largest single department expense in

the budget at $2.5 million.

childhood development.

Reid said municipali-
ties are also chipping in
with financial or other as-
sistance.

Darlene Westerman of
the The Family Place in
Terrace welcomes the
learning initiative plan.

But though there is
money to put a plan toge-

ther, she wonders if there
will be money for actual
programs because of conti-
nuing government cuts for
services.

“We're hearing from
the business community -
don’t look to us, we're
struggling,” added Wester-
man of the local economy.

Money for children starts to flow

NEARLY $50,000 of the
money earmarked for im-
provements in services for
small children here has al-
ready been spent.

It was part of the first
$100,000 grant allocated
last fall by the provincial
government.

But because it came so
late in the provincial bud-
get year cycle — the pro-
vince’s financial year be-
gins April 1 and ends
March 31 — not all of it
could be spent within that
12-month period.

But Linda Reid, the
minister of state for early.
childhood development,

says the excess money
won't be be lost. Instead it
will be added to the second
$100,060 allocation for the
financial year that began
yesterday, April 1.

“T'd have no difficulty if
it was carried over to the
next fiscal year,” said Reid
last week.

“Tf there was an overlap,
that would be OK,” said
Reid in adding that strict
budget year lines should be
relaxed when practical.

All told, the province is
to spend $300,000 up: to
2005 in Terrace bringing
agencies closer. together
and developing a plan so

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‘that services for small
children are delivered
more effectively.

Of that money already
spent, $1,000 went to the

school district for a par-’

enting program and $5,000
to Mothers Time Off.

The Northern Health
Authority received
$22,000 to better detect
hearing difficulties in
small children and the
Kalum-Horseshoe Com-
munity School Society re-
ceived $3,500 for the
local Good Food Box pro-
gram.

In addition to the
money spent on direct ser-
vices, a Victoria consult-
ing firm has also been
hired to bring agencies
here together.

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