So now it's official, Canadian incomes, save for the very few at the top of the economic food chain, have been stagnant or in decline for the past 25 years. Worse yet, incredibly, in BC median incomes have fallen a staggering 11.3% over the past quarter century. Meanwhile, an inexorably rising CPI has eroded the purchasing power of our significantly diminished incomes. And, yes, property taxes, collected from after tax income, have climbed dramatically, especially in certain areas of Metro Vancouver and Greater Victoria.
What's happening recently in West Vancouver? Well, between 2000 and 2005, the median income of "economic families" [formerly known as "household income" I believe] fell from $99,207. to $84,672, or by 14.7%. The median income of individual West Vancouverites fell from $66,278. to $59,914, or by 9.6%. Given that our District is home to many of the economic elite of Metro Vancouver, it is clear that the vast majority of local residents have seen an even greater decline in their individual and family incomes than the aggregate census numbers reveal.
Meanwhile, the taxes on our modest, by West Vancouver standards, property rose by 57.8% over the same time period. How about the taxes on your property? And let's not forget the ever-increasing cost of utility bills and of various adminstrative licences, fees, permits, etc. Can you say "financial squeeze-play"? I thought you could.
Well, where are all these West Vancouver tax dollars going? You don't have to look far. According to DWV "schedules of remuneration", between 2000 and 2005, the number of District employees earning in excess of $75,000 [ie. the reporting threshold under the provincial FIA] rose from 41 to 139, or by an incomprehensible 339%. Over that five year period, the cost of remunerating these employees, exclusive of their apparently "to die for" benefit plan [not to mention various perks such as car allowances and the like], rose from roughly $3.8 million to approximately $12.8 million, or by an equally appalling 337% [For each of 2006 and 2007, for reasons that ITAC intends to challenge in due course, the numbers relating to WVPD members have been removed from the District's schedule. ITAC has requested aggregate figures and expects to have them shortly so that we can do an "apples to apples" update]. Oh yes, then there are the growing legions of retired municipal employees whose pensions we are obliged to pay. Are you getting the picture, boys and girls? Ugly, isn't it?
The ranks of senior bureaucrats, at all levels of government across Canada, are swelling. By virtue of their relatively generous incomes, benefit and retirement plans, these individuals are becoming increasingly insulated and isolated from the realities that afflict the people for whom they allegedly work. For example, in the five years between 2002 and 2007, eleven senior DWV managers received, on average, a 39% increase in remuneration, or some 7.8% per year. Given the realities faced by many if not most of those who pay for such excess, this is a trend that needs to be reversed and soon.
Only purposeful political action will bring about the necessary change. West Vancouverites will most likely have their next opportunity to do something to protect their wallets on November 15th, the date set for local elections. ITAC will be working hard to ensure that the financial administration of our District is a central public policy issue during the upcoming municipal election campaign. We will be encouraging fiscally responsible candidates to seek election to DWV council. There is a beyond urgent need to pare the District bureaucracy and put an end to the fiscal incontinence that afflicts our local government. Your support for our efforts and your vote for economically enlightened candidates next November 15th will do much to turn things around and allow West Vancouver residents to rest easier when the taxman comes calling each year.
Please forward this e-mail to all those you know resident in West Vancouver who you think would benefit from receiving this information, with the request that they do the same.
Keep visiting ITAC's blog-site, www.thepluckedgoose.wordpress.com, for regular updates concerning the use and abuse of your hard-earned tax-dollars. We've had over 6,500 visits to date.
