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OUR VIEW: Tax grabs simply unsustainable

Surrey’s manager of finance says ‘monthly burn rate’ of carrying both Surrey RCMP and Surrey Police Service is about $8M monthly
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Black Press file photo

It’s truly horrific the toll this hurry and wait stance the provincial government is taking on Surrey residents as its dithering continues on the policing decision, especially considering Surrey property owners are being slammed with a whopping 12.5 per cent tax increase this year.

This, on top of pretty much everything getting more expensive in all aspects of life in British Columbia and Canada.

It’s said Hannibal marched his army of 30,000 troops, some 15,000 horses and dozens of elephants across the Alps in 16 days to attack Rome in 218 BC.

If only we had that kind of leadership today, here.

READ ALSO: Surrey council approves budget with 12.5% property tax hike

According to Surrey’s manager of finance, Kam Grewal, the “monthly burn rate” of carrying both the Surrey RCMP and Surrey Police Service is about $8 million per month.

The City of Surrey was initially expecting to receive a decision on the matter from Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth by the end of January.

But here we are, at the beginning of April, and Farnworth says he expects to render his decision “by the time tax notices go out, which is in mid-May.”

The man had the temerity to add that it’s “being worked on very, very fast.” At what, the cost of roughly $266,666 per day?

Now that kind of overtime no one ever could resist.

Governments at all levels, and bureaucracies at all levels, need to be weaned off of their fantasy that a country with a modest population of 38,651,089 (as of Tuesday, April 4) can sustain the financial hammering it is suffering under this unmerciful system.

– Now-Leader



edit@surreynowleader.com

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