THE FINAL DAYS The kids have cast their ‘votes’ and soon it will be your turn. Check out our final election wrap-up ahead of voting day next Tuesday. See page 3
VOTESMART PROVINCIAL ELECTION MAY 14, 2013
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THE FRIDAY
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
TRI-CITY NEWS CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
Election signs! Ugh?
May Day, May Day
SEE FACE TO FACE, PAGE 11
SEE THINGS-TO-DO GUIDE, PAGE 18
MAY 10, 2013 www.tricitynews.com
INSIDE
Your History/19 Tri-City Spotlight/27 Market Fresh/28 Sports/39
SD43 board OKs forensic audit of books By Diane Strandberg THE TRI-CITY NEWS
School District 43 trustees have voted in favour of a forensic audit despite concerns that putting the books under a financial microscope could cost up to $100,000. The motion was passed Tuesday night near the end of a long board of education meeting during which trustees also approved $12.5 million in staff and program cuts and passed a preliminary $271.2-million operating budget for next school year. The Coquitlam Teachers’ Association and CUPE Local 561, which represents sup-
port staff, had threatened to launch a public campaign to convince the board to approve the audit over the concerns the district’s finances were mismanaged last year, leading to a $13-million deficit for 2012-’13, $5 million in pre-emptive cuts and 142 job losses next year to avoid a future deficit. But before the campaign could get underway, Port Moody Trustee Keith Watkins brought forward a motion calling for a forensic audit of district finances, arguing the board needed more answers than what the regular annual audit would provide. see ‘UNTIL WE’, page 6
‘Dream team’ was at work in 2012 byelection A series of emails released this week showed that BC Liberal caucus staff were part of a swing riding team that worked on the 2012 byelection in Port MoodyCoquitlam. See article on page 3
STEVE SMITH PHOTO
Spring is a time of new growth everywhere in nature. At Rocky Point Park in Port Moody last weekend, this was in evidence as a mother goose and its goslings went on parade along the waterfront. If you’re interested in a bigger parade, check out the one at Port Coquitlam’s 90th May Day tomorrow.
1% tax mistake in PoCo Tax increase for 2013 to be smaller than planned By Gary McKenna THE TRI-CITY NEWS
The good news is that Port Coquitlam homeowners are expected to pay less in property taxes this year than the city had initially planned. The bad news is that
the same taxpayers may have forked over more than was necessary in 2012. A review of council’s approved funding decisions conducted by the city’s finance staff found that a planned infrastructure reserve transfer was duplicated in this year’s financial plan. (The infrastructure reserve, established in 2010, has collected 1% annually to address the
gap in funding needed to replace aging roads and facilities.) “As a consequence, the reserve fund transfer included in the budget for 2013 is inflated by $442,000,” said a city staff report. “The financial plan and related Tax Rates Bylaws for 2013 are therefore being reduced.” That means that instead of a 3.7% increase that was initially an-
Port Moody thinks the Evergreen Line could make the city attractive as site of a high-tech park: page 4 nounced, residential property owners will get a bill with a 2.84% increase, which translates into a tax bill that’s about $16.50 less for the average single-family homeowner.
What is further complicating the issue is the fact all B.C. cities are legally required to finalize their budgets by May 15 — next Wednesday. see $16.50, page 7