Letter from Clarence L.W. Reser, Re: Proposal To Increase Council Size

re: Proposal To Increase Council Size

I am in receipt of a letter from View Royal outlining a proposal to increase the size of Town Council and related accommodations within the town hall. Your letter was received on 11 January 2022. I had not heard of this matter nor was I aware of the previous open house circa November 2021.

As a property owner and taxpayer in the Township of View Royal, I am totally opposed to this proposal. Frankly, it is both unnecessary and would be a gross misuse of taxpayer funds. Here are my reasons:

1. According to your figures (p.2 of your letter), the population of View Royal ranges from estimates of 10,408 to 11,829. Let’s assume for purposes of discussion that there are about 12,000 residents in View Royal – not all being property owners per se. The current Council of 5 elected officials has the opportunity to serve 12,000 people; 2,400 per elected official; or 3,000 per Council Member, if the Mayor is excluded. This arrangement is not a large constituency base for an elected official in Canada.
2. Federal Members of Parliament (M.P.’s) have much larger constituency populations – especially in urban and metropolitan regions of the country.
3. B.C. provincial Members of the Legislative Assembly (M.L.A.’s) can also have large constituency populations – again in urban districts and in large cities like Vancouver and Victoria.
4. Municipal governments are the closest jurisdiction to the people. Municipal staff are quite visible and generally fairly accessible to residents. The issues in local government tend to be basic – depending of course on the property owner/taxpayer’s interests, needs and concerns.
5. In contradistinction, provincial and federal governments are vast enterprises and deal with highly complex policy and administrative subjects. Elected officials offer “constituency office services” in most districts. However, dealing with vast and remote bureaucracies is a great challenge for ordinary citizens and the elected officials per se.

Other Critical Priorities for Members of Town Council

As a resident, property owner and taxpayer in the Town of View Royal, I would respectfully suggest that there are other critical priorities for members of town council:

1. The huge escalation in property values may well yield large increases in municipal property taxes in the very near future if great care is not applied to restricting any escalation in local mill rates, in not effectively suppressing all new capital expenditures, and in not achieving great value for money in the delivery in every single municipal service. There is a huge potential downside here. Large unrealized, theoretical, and potentially transitory escalations in property values may result in many home owners being forced to sell or dispose of their homes. This risk is most acute for seniors on fixed incomes and families with limited capacity to increase revenue or income levels. Already, many home owners in my own subdivision rent out suites as well as empty rooms in their homes to simply meet large mortgage payments. There is a real limit to this approach. Empty homes do not generate collectable municipal property taxes.
2. Another pressing issue is the annual sewer surcharge protocol now employed by View Royal. At best, the calculation of this “sewer surcharge” is based on the erroneous assumption that all winter water consumption is sewerage. This is patent nonsense. Previously, the cost of sewer services was included on the annual property tax assessment. That made it visible, accountable and appealable. The decision to net out sewer costs from annual tax bills has reduced the visibility of this item, lowering property taxes in the short and narrow terms, but requires property owners to pay an invoice which they cannot dispute or appeal. This system is both unfair and highly undemocratic.
3. There is also a critical need for the Township to proactively manage the delivery of contracted out services like recycling and garbage collection. Property owners are billed for these services on their annual property tax assessment despite the fact that actual receipt of these services can be delayed, substandard, or non-existent. In my own experience, when I have complained to Town Hall about such matters, I was told to contact the contractor directly. Every outside contractor in View Royal is the agent of the Township and is paid by the Township with public funds. Individual property owners do not employ these people and have no legal right to supervise them. Municipal staff have both the duty and the legal obligation to manage their contractors. Recently, in my subdivision, last Wednesday’s garbage collection did not happen despite the streets on that day being clear of the recent heavy snowfalls, resulting in large accumulations of waste that was only collected this Wednesday. The same thing occurred with this Friday’s recycling; it did not happen on Riverside Drive nor in the immediate areas.

All of the above is respectfully submitted for the attention and consideration of the responsible elected and staff officials of the Town of View Royal.

Sincerely,

Clarence L.W. Reser