The Tri-City News, March 27, 2013

Page 1

THE WEDNESDAY

CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012

MARCH 27, 2013

TRI-CITY NEWS CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012

Youths act to help

Historically fashionable

SEE LIFE, PAGE A15

SEE ARTS, PAGE A23

www.tricitynews.com

INSIDE

Tom Fletcher/A10 Letters/A11 A Good Read/A16 Sports/A26

What to do with all those stinky jerseys? See article on page A3

PoCo tax hike 3.7% for homes Councillors back new budget but have concerns By Gary McKenna THE TRI-CITY NEWS

BOAZ JOSEPH/BLACK PRESS

Port Coquitlam-Ridge Meadows’ Ringette’s Karla Rauk (in blue jersey) pulls ahead of Jillian Price of a Surrey-White Rock opponent in an 18+B match at the 2013 BC Ringette provincials at the Surrey Sports and Leisure Complex on Saturday. More sports, see page A26.

Homeowners in Port Coquitlam will likely see a 3.7% property tax increase when their bill arrives this year, a jump of approximately $71.25 for the owner of an average single-family home. On Monday, PoCo council voted in favour of granting the first three readings to the 20132017 financial plan, a document that includes funding for the hiring of six new firefighters and two new police officers. It also includes a 1% levy the city said will be used to address its estimated $330-million infrastructure gap. Many municipalities are grappling with how to pay for the replacement of existing roads, sewers and facilities nearing the end of their lifespan, and PoCo has been setting money aside for the expense over the last few years. But while there is some additional spending in this year’s budget, councillors said they

INSIDE ■ Evergreen Line stations are named: A3 ■ Support for TransLink funding: A4 were keenly focused on keeping the property tax increase low. “I am happy with where we are at,” Mayor Greg Moore said.“We did focus on making some reductions.” Moore noted that more than $600,000 in efficiencies were identified by the city’s committees and department heads. Service level changes — including the elimination of pest control services on private property, reductions in funding for the city’s vehicle fleet, reductions in ball diamond grooming and a decrease in staff holiday coverage — will save the city $403,000. Another $217,000 in savings is expected to come from reductions in energy use and maintenance costs. see LONG-TERM, page A12


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