THE FRIDAY
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
JAN. 24, 2014
TRI-CITY NEWS CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
Toronto vs. Vancouver
A toast to Robbie Burns
SEE FACE TO FACE, PAGE 11
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INSIDE
Opinion/10 Letters/12 Books Plus/24 Sports/31
Council talks taxes in PoMo Residents could see a 2.86% tax increase By Dan Ebenal THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Port Moody residents facing a possible 2.86% property tax increase are being given plenty of opportunities to see where their hard-earned dollars are being spent. Coming off a series of council cafes — the last running Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at city hall and the rec complex — a budget town hall will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at the Inlet Theatre, 100 Newport Dr. “I think they should come down to learn a little bit about the budget, see where the spending
priorities are this year, see where the increases are,” said Port Moody Mayor Mike Clay. “There’s very little increase this year but they can get a feel for where council is directing the priorities for what we think people are taking as important in the community and where we’re spending their money.” The current draft of the budget calls for a 1.86% tax increase on top of the 1% asset renewal levy, for an overall increase of 2.86%. Clay said city staff met their target of a 1.5% budget increase with later resolutions from council pushing that figure up slightly, a number he would like to see brought back down. see ADJUSTMENTS, page 14
Mayors insist province owns TransLink ‘chaos’ Robertson, Watts reject referendum responsibility By Jeff Nagel BLACK PRESS
DIANE STRANDBERG/THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Vicki Lepper, mom and owner of Terrific Kids Day Care, checks out the Little Free Library in Walton Forest park at the corner of Walton Avenue and Durant Drive in Coquitlam. Her father-in-law built the wooden book kiosk, with funds from the Tri-Cities Literacy Committee and Lepper looks after it. The idea is for people to take a book to read and leave a book for others to share, and it has taken off in the Tri-Cities. There are currently five little free libraries in the TriCities, including three in Coquitlam and two in Anmore. For story, see PAGE 3.
Metro Vancouver mayors have shot back at Transportation Minister Todd Stone, insisting the province and not they are responsible for the failure so far to map out a referendum on raising more money for TransLink. Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson was among those
Wednesday who expressed disappointment that Stone has framed the impasse as one stemming from the mayors’ failure to decide what should be done. “Mayors have been very unified for five years now,” Robertson said. “All of this current chaos is generated by the province. We’ve done everything we could do to put forward concrete suggestions and be constructive and advocate for more transit in the region.” see WATTS, page 4