AiO - The Terrace Standard, Wednesdav. May 17, 1995 CITY BUDGET Money shovelled | into fiscal pothole By JEFF NAGEL 1995 IS the year city council will begin trying to fill in its biggest pothole — the so-called ‘‘asphalt deficit.” The new city budget, adopted last week, takes. direct aim at the cmmbling roads and city infra- structure, oo. The city’s. financial picture looks rosy right now, with a near- ly $1.3 million surplus carried ‘over from last year, and up to $1 mnillion in savings starting next _ ‘year from staff cuts and restruc- turing. : But city councillors concede ‘that’s an illusion — that for years the city hasn't spent enough money maintaining its roads and ‘that it’s now time to pay down ‘the infrastructure deficit, | For years, the city has been a ‘poor cousin of neighbouring ‘Prince Rupert and Kitimat — awhere councils have enjoyed the ‘relatively easy money that a large ‘industrial tax base produces. | Terrace, surviving primarily on ‘residential and commercial tax ‘bases, has had a harder time ‘devoting money to properly ‘maintaining roads, But city finance committee Chairman David Hull rejects the - idea that the city had no option in those years, _ We had the choice,"’ he says. “The choice was obvious: You had to cut back your expenditures ‘and that’s what we're now doing atthe city.” Public works committee chairman Gordon Hull said the cily will try to stretch its paving money as far as possible this year with a new policy it’s developing. “The plan is to rebuild as many roads as we can,’’ he said, They're spending nearly $500,000 out of the $1.3 million surplus this year on roads. And they're developing a con- - sistent system of using Local Im- | provement Projects (LIPs). to - pave city streets. Li?s depend on the majority ‘of ‘homeowners on a street voting in ~ ‘favour of the project, Each then ‘pays a share based on frontage f for the paving project. The city is preparing a map that designates certain streets — where most of the traffic doesn’t consist of residents there — as feeder streets. " Those will be the responsibility of the city, But ail other streets will only be paved by LIP, with residents sharing in the cost. Nearly $590,000 worth of pub- lic works projects outlined in the budget include $150,000 set aside for LIPs, $150,000 for road pave- iment capping, and $50,000 for a geo-iechnical study of the prob- lems of rebuilding Lanfear Hill, More than $28,000 is earmarked for traffic lights at Kenney and Hwy16, and $23,500 is set aside for air conditioning at city hall and the public works of- fices, More than $570,000 is included for road rebuilds. Although still -’ under review, the list includes: Haugland (from Eby to Kalum), Lazelle (from Munroe to Eby), Greig (from Apsley to school), Apsley (from Lakelse to Greig), ‘Clinton (from Lakelse to Greig), Clinton (from Park to Lakelse), Kalum (Keith to Haugland), and Kenney (from Keith to Graham). Another $1.1 million is destined for sewer and water capital projects — including $400,000 to complete the Frank St. water weil project. Mayor Jack Talstra noted the budget continues the downward trend in tax rates of the past few years, As assessments grow, the city has tied to reduce residential tax rates so most homeowners pay about the same amount from year to year. This year, amyone whose as- sessment went up by no more than £15 per cent will see their tax bill remain steady, or even decline, $500,000 more — about 7.3 per cent — from local taxpayers this year, But most of that comes by way of new construction, most of it in the light-industrial sector, or else ’ due to new homes being built. Also in the budget is $25,000 . for library shelving and $65,000 “to cover cost overruns from last year’s library expansion project, Other capital expenses planned include: Wi $16,660 for a video-image booking system for the RCMP, m $15,000 for school , playgrounds at Cassie Hall ' Elementary School and Kiti K’Shan Primary. Construction costs are being shared with the school board and parents’ ad- visory councils. The city’s recreation depart- ment projects a $30,000 increase in revenue — to $678,865 — as a result of fee increases to be intro- duced this year to pool and arena users, Most city departments include modest budget increases, but once three-per-cent wage in- creases for unionized CUPE workers are factored in, discre- tionary spending is actually down down in many areas. More than a quarter of the city’s $12.7 million budget is spent on protective services. RCMF service and the Fire De- partment account for the bulk of that $3.5 million chunk, with building inspection, animal con- trol and bylaw enforcement fifl- Treaty office aims at overlap FIVE NORTHWEST 1a- tives have been appointed to an inter-tribal panel aimed at resolving ‘land claim overlaps between different groups. Each member on the Northwest Tribal Treaty’s overlap panel represents one of the northwest claim groups. The five reps are Alan Moore (Nisga’a), Phillis Haizimsque (Gilanyow), Johnny Clifton (Tsim- shian), Mortis Amos (Haisla) and Alvin Weget (Gitxsan). The Northwest Tribal ‘Treaty organization is named after a treaty signed between native groups in 1991, One of the treaty’s clauses says those groups who signed will work toward resolving land claims overlaps. To date there hasn’t been a formal mechanism set up to do so until the creation of the Northwest Tribal Treaty organization this year. Overlaps are a crucial factor in land claims nego- THE NORTHWEST Tribal aI Treaty office is now open at the back of the Kitselas band administration building on Queens- way Drive. That's office worker Christine Munroe and North- west Tribal Treaty executive director Marilyn Norby. One of the key reasons for the office is to work between northwest native groups to resolve overlaps of land claims. and federal governments as Original signatories to the the latter have said they trealy are the Tsimshian, won’t conclude treaties un- _—the Haida, the til overlaps are ironed out. Wet’suwet’en, the Gitksan, Among the more impor- the Nisga’a, the Lake tant overlaps in the north- Babine Band, the Haisla west are the ones between —_ and the Carrier-Sekanni. the Nisga’a and the Tsim- The treaty group is also to shian and the Nisga’a and = work on a public relations the Gitanyow. and education campaign. That’s because the The organization opened Nisga’a are farther along in —its head office Jan. 30 at negotiating their claim than the back of the Kitselas any other native group in band office building on The city will collect nearly ing out the rest. tiations with the provincial _ the northwest. Queensway Drive. : Ot health care system: -It'severybody's in British Columbia responsibility to is vital to us, use the health care system wisely. MW, hen we really need medical services, we. ma depend on the system to take care of us. But | who's taking care of health care? Over the years, we've come to expect 2 lot from our health care system. We're all using - A dating el for todays successful singles To respond to Ads - Call 1-900-451-4733, Ext 21. Only $1.99 per minute charges will appear on your monthly phone bill Must be 18 years of age or older. The Skeena Marketplace 4 Weekender is pleased to introduce ; Expenditures (}) ecomete AGON SINCE 1930 Your Welcome Wagon Hostesses for Terrace, B.C. are: Elaine 635-3018 — | Joan 635-2928 Francine 635-2685 - Gillian 635-3044 lf you have moved to Terrace or have just had a. new baby, or are getting married, just give one of us all . ) ‘High quality affordable health care is one ‘of our most important resources. British . . Columbia's health care system is one of the world’s best, but like medicare systems every- * costs in British Columbia represent about 33 annual budget. Medical services costs per per- 1 son are rising quickly. 30 > a yy BANS BGT : ; Fiscal Year -*. MSP Expendituies* per Subscriber * Medical services account for approximately .* 92% of fetal MSF expenditures “We're committed to safeguarding the system for the future. The Medical Services Commission (MSC). — “which has nine members, three each representing government, the medical pro- “| fession and the public — is responsibie- "for the Medicil Services Plan (MSP) that isues your CareCard, ‘The British Columbia Nedical sssodation (BCMA) represents the doctors of B.C. who provide many ¢ of the medical serviots covered by your CareCard. “these partners are working together to make sure medicare is there for-all I Brtish Colunblansj in he future where, it faces challenges. Today, health care per cent of the provincial government's total - 2 eG) qu) U5 Together, the BISC and BCMA are com- mitted to taking care of health care, ‘Thelr _ goal is to control costs and maintain the quality of medical services in British Columbia through an important joint ini- tiative that will make the health care system “more efficlent. In 1992, a five-year Working Agreement between the MSC, the govern- ment, and the BCMA took effect. The short- ‘term goal Is to save $383 million over the term of the agreement by keeping projected cost increases down. The long-term goals are even more important: to secure the quality, affordability, equity and sustainabil- ity of our health care system for the future, 1390 : 1,800 5 tt 4 1,450 .) : e* | 1,400 = ae 4 Sian xe 1300 rm e eso b a , 1200 55 WH 495 BAK 1097 Fiscal Year Managed Growth vs Unmanaged Growth @owe Unmanaged Groh samme Managed Growth, “all British Columbians to join the ee and We're not just. trying one solution, We're trying a whole range of strategies. Hae are some things we are doing: * Ther is an annual cap on total MSP pay- ments to physicians for the medical services they provide thelr patients. « Clinical praciice guidelines are being devel oped to help you and your doctor choose effective and appropriate medical services when you need them, and avoid unnecessary tests and procedures. * Steps are being taken to ensure an appro- priate number of physicians are availab le throughout the province, to meet immediate and future needs. * Other improvements are taking place, such as better tracking of trends in use af medical services, monitoring physicians’ billing patterns, and ensuring effective Use - of Pharmacare resources, » Apublic education program wil encourage ‘the. doctors of b, G as partners In ang care: |< of hela care. more and more medical services. Nearly 50 million medical services — doctor visils, tests and other procedures — are performed every --year in British Columbia, Part of the increase , in health care costs fs due to this rise in our ~ rate of use, In fact, health care costs are rising “faster than can be explained by population | “prov and aging. Research suggests that na : ; particular group of people is to blame. Much of the increase in medical services is simply due to the fact that we're all placing greater. ~ demands on the system. We have ta use this valued resource responsibly to make sure needed services are available for future generations, AU British Columbians are asked to become more responsible consumers of medical services, You can talk to your doctor about how you can help lake care of health care, so oits always there to lke care of you. _ taking “of health care — ‘afoint (nitiative of Chena ©. Medical Services Commission : a we J "J See Relish Colurmbla Niedical Association ©"