Re: curling club tax vote:
1: We should always be aware that anything added to the tax role is permanent and is highly unlikely to ever be reduced or eliminated even if the service is gone. eg; the old A-frame rink in McBride.
2: Only about 40% of the tax burden is directly on your residential tax bill. 60% is from business. Either business is unfairly taxed to support a recreational desire that doesn’t have sufficient individual support to carry itself, which kills business development, or the cost is passed onto consumers – in which case the cost to residents would be $32/100k of assessment. And that’s just direct town tax cost. The grants come from somewhere and there are no free lunches.
I am not sure of the interest in curling but our rinks are so underused the per person cost is now ridiculous. And there isn’t really any way out. Don’t start something we aren’t sure will be used in the future.
Norm Lorenz
Dunster B.C.
