What if people shoot down the idea of upping taxes to pay for transit?
Posted October 13, 2016 11:47 am.
Last Updated October 13, 2016 1:02 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – As many of you prepare to have your say on a plan for funding transit in our region, the provincial government is telling us whether there’s any chance of it increasing the amount it’ll pony up.
The plan from mayors in Metro Vancouver includes raising your property tax, but it looks like your reaction won’t have an effect on the government’s contribution.
If most people who give their feedback shoot down that idea, the Minister responsible for TransLink Peter Fassbender has a clear answer to whether that may change the amount the government puts in. “Well no it won’t, because we’ve already increased our traditional amount from what we had budgeted and we did that in recognition that we need to move ahead. We’ve invested billions of dollars in this region and province in transportation.”
The government is contributing one-third of the total costs for the first phase of a 10-year plan. The mayors have proposed raising property tax by $3 per household and increasing transit fares to help cover other costs.
Consultation begins this weekend.
