A costly place to hang your hat

Problems with last years Skeena Queen Charlotte Regional District budget are coming home to roost for residents of the Queen Charlottes.

Operating costs for the recycling centre and landfill on the Islands didn't match up with the budgeted amount, so in order to recoup those costs and make sure that they don't repeat them this year, some residents of the Charlottes will be seeing their taxes increase.

Of all the communities on the Charlottes Masset and Port Clements will see the largest of increases, with the tax bill request for Masset going up $9,311 overall in that community, while Port Clements will be asked for an additional $1,906.

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Most others will stay the same or decrease slightly, Prince Rupert in the meantime will see a reduction on the amount of money requested by SQCRD, with a $107,918 decrease from the last bill received.

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In addition to the recylcing burden, there are other costs associated with living on the Charlottes that are becoming irritants to the people that live there, especially the proposed carbon tax, which an isolated area such as the Charlottes is particularly concerned about.

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The Daily News featured details on the Regional District financials with two stories in Wednesday's paper.

Recycling drives up the cost of living on Islands
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Pages one and five

The Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District (SQCRD) will be asking most of its taxpayers to pay the same taxes or less than they did last year, with the exception of Port Clements and Masset.

John Holland, Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District administrator, presented the regional district's budget on Friday, and explained that the tax increase for those two communities comes in part from the need to cover the cost of the Queen Charlotte Islands landfill and in part because of an increase in assessed values in land.

Last year, the district overran the cost of operating the Queen Charlotte Islands landfill and recycling centre by $267,851. In short, they budgeted for $684,574 and spent $889,345 on the operation.

This year, they not only need to recoup some of those funds, but also plan not to have a shortfall this year.

"We miscalculated by a couple of thousand miles on that," said Tony Briglio, director for Prince Rupert.

"Last year, we had problems with the budget and we are paying for it this year. We do bear responsibility for it," said Des Nobels, director for Area A.

Specifically, recycling on the islands costs a significant amount and does not generate revenue, which it does on the mainland, but directors agreed people feel strongly that they want that service.

The district will, however, be looking at how it can reduce the cost associated with shipping recyclable materials through B.C. Ferries, which is currently $25,000.

"In order to maintain status quo, what would recover the money within the next three years, we would go back to fees of $22 and raise tax requisitions," said Carol Kulesha, Queen Charlotte.
The amount of revenue the SQCRD plans to generate for landfill and recycling operations has risen from $580,713 to $830,610 in 2008 and $102,077 will go to paying down the cost overrun from last year.

In order to do this, they will be increasing the monthly cost of garbage service on the islands by $4 per month, from $18 to $22, as well as no longer allowing people to opt out from garbage service when they are off island for several months at a time.

The amount is the SQCRD is asking from Skidegate and Old Massett First Nations for more to cover the cost of the landfill. Skidegate's bill is increasing from $57,762 to $93,450 and Old Massett from $55.050 to $76,560.

"At the moment, the only word I have had is that Skidegate does not like the increase," said Holland.

Overall, the SQCRD will be asking taxpayers for $882,722 in taxes, down from $1,001,494 in 2007.

In Masset, the tax requisition has increased from $47,628 in 2007 to $56,939 in 2008, an increase of $9,311, while in Port Clements, the tax requisition has increased from $21,660 to $23,566, an increase of $1,906 in 2008. Everyone else's drops or stays the same, with the largest decrease coming for Prince Rupert, whose requisition went down from $424,881 to $316,963, a decrease of $107,918.

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Islands residents fuming at expensive carbon tax
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Page 3

The province's 2.4 cent carbon tax is going to end up costing big dollars for residents of the Queen Charlotte Islands, says the Mayor of Masset.

Barry Pages has written Finance Minister Carole Taylor, pointing out the many flaws of setting up such a tax when areas like the Islands do not have access to electricity.

Taylor has been widely quoted as saying the province designed the new carbon-neutral tax because: "we believe we are giving back to people, whether you are in the North or in an urban centre, more dollars than, in fact, this tax will cost."

Pages said his council finds that difficult to imagine.

"As an isolated northern community, Masset has very limited options for reducing dependence on fossil fuels with no access to the mainland electrical grid or natural gas system. Homes and business have two choices for heat - oil and electricity, however all of our electricity is diesel-generated in the first place, so there is no environmental benefit and no cost benefit to switching to electricity," he said.

Oil already costs more on the islands, as does almost every commodity, because of shipping prices. Currently, the price of oil in Masset is $1.13 while in Prince Rupert it is $1.05.

"The proposed carbon tax will mean a direct increase to home heating costs of at least $55 a year and will rise to over $165 by 2012. Those costs do not take into consideration the compounding effect that will result from increased transportation costs to get the heating oil to the islands," he said.

"There is nothing that comes to these islands that will not be impacted by this carbon tax and that impact will be compounded several times over before products reach their final consumer."
For example, milk in Masset is currently $6.69 per gallon, up from $3.99 in Prince Rupert. With the new carbon tax, this cost differential will only increase.

In addition, the municipality will be forced to pass on the increased costs to community and user groups that use local facilities, punishing senior and youth groups.

"With oil heat, our only practical option, a carbon tax will increase our operating costs over $2,400 in the first year and more than $7,400 by 2012 ... " said Pages.

The carbon tax will hit islanders in every thing they do, even impacting the cost of accessing basic medical services off-island. Hence, they have some serious doubts when Taylor says this tax will actually put money back in their pockets.

"It is difficult to imagine ... " he said.

"We fear that continuing to add new taxes will further broaden the gulf between small isolated communities and the rest of the province and may lead us even closer to the collapse of small towns and their pioneering spirit which has been the mainstay of this province for the past 150 years."