THE FRIDAY
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
TRI-CITY NEWS CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
Brews, bruises and hockey
ArtsFest, magic and more
SEE FACE TO FACE, PAGE 11
SEE THINGS-TO-DO GUIDE, PAGE 16
Parks planning in Port Moody: page 8
FEB. 21, 2014 www.tricitynews.com
INSIDE
Letters/11 Books Plus/17 Tri-City Spotlight/18 Sports/35
Point & click for budget? Coquitlam looks at online budget feedback system By Janis Warren THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Coquitlam city hall hopes to get more residents involved in the budget process with a new online tool to show where their property taxes go. Citizen Budget is aimed at giving finance staff and city council a better idea about how the public wants tax dollars to be spent. City staff want to replace the annual budget meeting — typically attended by fewer than a dozen people, most of whom are connected to special interest groups — with the online program. Responses from the
DIANE STRANDBERG/THE TRI-CITY NEWS
The boardwalk at Shoreline Park in Port Moody is one of many popular recreation spots in the Tri-Cities, drawing people from throughout the region. Now, the city of Port Moody is asking its citizens to participate in an update of its Parks and Recreation Master Plan. See article on page 8.
web survey are intended to add to the city’s annual Ipsos Reid telephone poll as well as the town hall meetings held twice a year. Developed by a nonprofit group with the aim of getting more people involved in local government, Citizen Budget is currently used in Toronto and Montreal, although it is not well known in western Canada. The simulator has been used in Langley Township as well as Regina and Edmonton, and the city of Victoria is also considering logging on. see $6K A YEAR, page 9
FREEDOM TO READ WEEK Although the internet is known for offending the bounds of good taste, libraries have their challenges, too. Find out what local librarians are doing about freedom of expression: see story, page 6