Editor:
There has been many letters to the editor about the City of New Westminster rebranding itself. To me, the taxpayers of New West have a lot more to worry about than a past mayor's pet project to spend more of our tax dollars. Hopefully a new council will see the light and stop this rebrand.
What do the homeowners and businesses need to worry about? In my opinion:
The rising cost of New Westminster property taxes
Those on the current council feel we are their piggy banks. I feel they do not understand or care about the impact that approving increases to all services has on all citizens of New West. We need those on council to first think outside the box before going to homeowners from more of our money. Spending is out of control. Each year at budget time the Anvil Centre is in need more funding; this building has been a burden on property owners since the beginning. Sell the Anvil Centre, let it go, allot these funds to other areas.
Wages of upper managers are way too high for a small city like New Westminster. It's time to get real on what our city can afford and what it cannot. Paying bigger city wages for upper management is what we cannot afford. I also feel council should also take a pay cut. Lead by example.
New Westminster hydro costs
BC Hydro decreased electricity costs by 1.4 per cent to their customers, yet our council increased electricity costs to their customers by 2.8 per cent. Where does the City of New West get their power? BC Hydro. Did our city get discount of 1.4 per cent? If they did, why was this not passed onto us, their customers? Future increases are coming. I hope a total new council and mayor puts a stop to these increases — or allow homeowners and businesses to choose what electricity company supplies their homes. If there is a cheaper price out there, we should be able to have it. We should not be forced to pay a higher cost. Imagine the cost saving to our schools, if they could have cheaper electricity, or our community centre. This list goes on and on. It should be our right to choose.
New Westminster's roads
Our roads are a mess. Have you driven along Sixth Street from 12th Street to the Queensborough Bridge? It's like a roller coaster ride. Not to mention the roads in Queensborough. This is where our tax dollars should be going. Not taking over buildings like the Massey Theatre. Just think how much of our money will be needed to keep it maintained. In my view, poor judgement from the current council on how to spend our money.
It's time for a huge change in who sits in the mayor and council chairs. We need to elect people who can think outside the box before coming to us for more of our money. We need to stop electing professional politicians over and over again.
They say the definition of insanity is: Doing the same thing over and over again and hoping for a different result.
This time, let's make a real change! One for the better.
Don Doyle, Queensborough
