Are Crowsnest Pass Ratepayers concerned?
We ask all taxpayers
of the Crowsnest Pass
- Taxes are climbing every year in 2010 (Bylaw 794) showed the municipality collecting $6,432,821 in General Municipal Taxation in 2012 (Bylaw 851) that number is $6,820,152 an increase of $387,331 per year.
- Utility Bills in 2010 our utility bills were providing the municipality $182,054 per month today we are paying $201,945 a difference of $19,891 per month or $238,700 per year
- Franchise
Fees in 2010 were bringing in $295,551 today we are paying $569,749 a
difference of $274,198.
Those three numbers above come to a total of $900,029 per
year more. Right now council has a proposal to increase Franchise Fees another
$336,945 next year plus an additional 2.5% in residential taxes. That will
transfer $1,400,000 more a year from the Taxpayers pockets to the Municipality
versus 2010. This does not include all the other Fees, Fines and charges that
have been increased by a council and administration that are focused on
maximizing revenues.
- Municipal Hiring: Council would have you believe that the Municipal workforce has not increased in size. At the date of the last election there were 19 employees in the municipal office (Administrators and Staff) Today that number is 25. In addition we are concerned about the never ending turn over at the administrative level. From June of 2011 to July of 2012 we had six changes at the administrative level.
- Consultants: Do you feel like every week there is another consultant determining the future of our community. Up to April 5,2012 $19,000 to Abiocon Strategies, $49,000 to Friesen Tokar, $102,447 to Park Enterprises, $43,570 to All Fire Investigations, $13,055 to Inn Heaven Bed & Breakfast, $203,545 to Transitional Solutions. Now we hear about consultants being used for Branding and Fire Hall location studies. Where does it stop?
- Debt: Prior to 2010 previous councils had a policy of putting money aside to purchase new equipment, 2011 $550,000 was borrowed to finance equipment that is barely ever used. (Almost $300,000 on a track hoe alone), 2012 $140,000 was borrowed to finance the two community Peace Officer trucks.
Changes: Let’s look at what else as happened over the last two years.
- Spring Cleanup eliminated for the vast majority of the public.
- April 2011 Bellevue Library
closes.
- July 2011 announcement regarding consolidation of Blairmore/Coleman shop does not happen until a year later.
- September 2011 Mayor
Decoux informs Chamber of Commerce that the municipality will be hiring
another Peace Officer at “no cost to the Taxpayers”
- December 2011 Tax Penalties
increased from 20% to 52%.
- Feb,2012 Census results show
- March 2012 Council makes
decision to “defer Thunder in the Valley”
- April 2012 Devon Gas Plant
announces closure
- May 2012 Mayor announces request
for proposals going out on the Crowsnest Centre Site
- May 2012 Tender for demolition
of the Crowsnest Centre put out with a closing date of August 30th
- June 2012 Town Hall
meeting Mayor Speaks about Centre being gone before first snowfall and the
building process beginning next spring. Discusses approaching the Province
and the MD of Ranchlands to share tax revenues.
- June 2012 Mayor
releases first “Mayor’s Corner” Very critical of coffee talkers and people
that write letters to the editor or on web sites.
- June 2012 Rate payers
organization revived, meetings with the public begin.
- July 2012 Water/Sewer
rates increase by 4.5% electrical increases by 6%
- July 2012 Community
Peace Officer Trucks arrive ($140,000)
- July 2012 Despite
predictions of huge turnouts Rum Runner Days takes place with very poor
attendance at most events
- August 2012 Pass
Promoter runs story about Municipality hiring gopher hunters despite
denial at previous town hall meeting.
- Sept 2012 Community
Peace Officers are introduced at Council meeting
- Sept 2012 Announcement
that Chinook Pipelines is suing the municipality
- Sept 2012 Safety codes
Fees are going up 120%
- Sept 2012 Mayor
interviewed on Alberta Primetime regarding potential Quebec Manufacturer
- Sept 2012 New Fire
Chief and his new pickup show up
- Sept 2012 Debate on
Municipal Franchise Fee Increases begins.
- Sept 2012 Final report
on Rum Runner Days “deferred” to Oct 2 then again to Oct 16.
- Sept 2012
- October 2012
Municipality relives Blairmore
Fire Chief of his position.
The
ratepayers association requested information regarding the three year budget,
we were informed that this information would be given to us by the middle of
September and released to the public on the Municipal Web site. At our meeting
with Council on October 9,2012 we were finally presented with a pile of papers that
are suppose to answer the questions asked.
Interested in
joining the Ratepayers or signing our petition contact the following
William Kovach 564-4709 Gail Montgomery 564-4077
Troy Clark 563-0381 Sasha JaegerBaird 563-6073
Ed Strembecki
564-0184 Marilyn Milley 562-2719
Marlene Anctil
562-8180 Larry Ruzek 564 4384
Rudy Pagnucco
562-8147
Please check out our
Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crowsnest-Pass-RatePayers-Association/441790612539166?fref=ts
17 comments:
Not deflecting from anything, but my biggest concern is suppose instead of "supposed". Yikes.
9:21 That is why we are in trouble in the Pass. We focus so much attention on the little items (spelling error) that we lose sight of the real issues.
No, I think a newspaper's responsibility is to have correct spelling and grammar.
April 2012 Devon Gas Plant announces closure
this was council's fault?
10:13
First of all what you are commenting on is a flyer placed inside today's paper. It was not written by the newspaper. I would expect that papers are not expected to proof read all the advertising flyers that go in their publications.
Next I expect if you had been on the Titanic you would have been rearranging the deck chairs has the boat went down.
Why don't you debate the information in the flyer, of which there is plenty. The best you can do is come up with a spelling mistake?
I suspect you think this council is doing a great job because every piece of paper, by law, policy they put out, is grammatically correct.
Mike
Um, as it should be. I would hope government would not send something out with, UR invited......
If you want to be taken seriously you should take time with things such as spelling and grammar.
Devon gas plant: I do not think anybody is blaming council for the closure. The heading talks about changes in the Crowsnest Pass over the last two years.
Anon 10:40, the plant closure took away a wad of cash from our account receivable, yet the spending did not pause, as our brilliant leadership is spending tax dollars like mad, preparing us for a better future. Looking at what they have done so far, one can say their intentions are good, but if we let them continue on the present course, someone will eventually say: “the operation was successful, but the patient died.”
Dean on the Municipal web site @ http://www.town.crowsnestpass.ab.ca/finance-a-administration/employment
It shows a number of jobs available what exactly is the Manager of Operational Services and the Manager of Corporate Services?
I have not seen CSI Miami yet this fall. Any chance that they are filming a few episodes in the Pass?
The silent majority are speaking all over our great municipality right now.
What do you mean the silent majority is speaking out?
Blame the price of natural gas being in the toilet and Alberta Environment for the ever-tightening emissions requirements these old sour plants have to operate under for the closure of the gas plant. It was a good employer, community supporter and local tax contributer but lumping it in with all the other woes of council is hardly educated or informed. The subject of the gas plant shouldn't even come up in these ratepayers discussions. Council and their actions had absolutely nothing to do with its closure.
Does it say any where that it was Councils fault?
We must be reading it differently
Jack
No one is blaming the Council for the plant closure. The problem with this council is that someone did a very good snow job on them and convinced them that we can have prosperity in the future if we spend a lot of tax dollars today. While it is true that investing in your community is important, not all investments are the same. Building big bureaucratic structures and isolating the councillors from the community they are supposed to serve, is not a good investment. Crowsnest Pass is not resistant to change; Crowsnest Pass is resistant to foolishness.
Jack.
People around town have been suggesting it is Council's fault Devon got driven away.
Open your eyes and ears and stick to the facts, Jack
-Ed
Ed, you have some strange friends or you just want to make trouble. I get around town a lot and I have not heard anyone blaming the council for the plant closure. We don't need to grasp at straws like those who support this council. Imagine calling the police on our own volunteers. When our Council behaves like this, no one needs to fabricate anything.
Post a Comment