Letters in the Tri City News

A sampling ofAi??letters printed in the Tri city News.

Mayors must stop being sucked in on TransLink funding

Published: February 12, 2013 1:00 PM

The Editor,

Re. ai???Polak undecided on proposed taxai??? (The Tri-City News, Feb. 8).

As P.T. Barnum said, ai???There is a sucker born every minute.ai??? And it seems Metro Vancouver mayors are being suckered by TransLinkai??i??s demand for more money.

TransLinkai??i??s shaky fiscal house can be blamed on:

ai??? gross mismanagement, which demands more and more taxpayersai??i?? money to hide;

ai??? building the SkyTrain and Canada Line light-metro instead building with much cheaper LRT;

ai??? senior government interference;

ai??? and lack of public oversight.

This witchai??i??s brew of fiscal and planning incompetence has all but bankrupted TransLink and to send more money into the black hole shows political ennui by regional politicians, who seem to seek political oblivion by forcing more taxes and user fees on an angry public. Do these mayors remember the HST debacle?

Other than eliminating TransLink and starting anew, the regionai??i??s mayors should demand the provincial government, which ultimately controls TransLink:

ai??? Eliminate TransLinkai??i??s planning function and hire transit experts as it will get better transit planning and advice than from career bureaucrats.

ai??? Plan and build modern LRT instead of SkyTrain as itai??i??s both cheaper to build and operate and has the capability to carry more riders. Has anyone noticed at TransLink that no one builds with SkyTrain any more?

ai??? Make TransLink or a new transit authority autonomous from senior politicians and their lobbyists.

ai??? Have the new transit authorityai??i??s operating board made up of elected members, one from each Metro municipality, elected during civic elections.

It is time for Metro Vancouver mayors to find some moral backbone and stand up to TransLink (and for many, their political masters in Victoria) and say no to further taxes and let TransLink collapse under its sheer weight of its incompetence.

It is time for the regionai??i??s mayors to be suckered no more.

Malcolm Johnston, Delta

Levy’s another tax

Published: February 08, 2013 9:00 AM

The Editor,

Re. ai???TransLink vehicle levy back on Metro mayorai??i??s agendaai??? (The Tri-City News, Jan. 23).

We know that TransLink has an insatiable appetite for other peopleai??i??s money. Weai??i??ve seen this play out over the years, with never-ending schemes for new taxes to pay for the thing.

But Belcarra Mayor Ralph Drewai??i??s comments take the prize: ai???Thereai??i??s only one thing not tapped out and thatai??i??s the vehicle levy.ai???

Mayor Drew, maybe this is news to you, but cars donai??i??t pay taxes, taxpayers pay taxes. Those would be the same taxpayers who are tapped out on gas taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, income taxes and so on. Finding yet another tax to throw at taxpayers, and making the disingenuous claim that itai??i??s vehicles that are taxed is beyond belief.

Maybe Mayor Drew thinks taxpayers are really that stupid that they canai??i??t tell the difference between a vehicle tax and all the other taxes being charged, or maybe if you call it a ai???levy,ai??? taxpayers wonai??i??t know itai??i??s really just another tax.

John Holmes, Coquitlam