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Taxes and grants

Rossland faces more than $40 million in necessary infrastructure upgrades in the coming years. Regardless of which projects council ultimately decides to spend on, we need engineers’ drawings of the existing systems and potential modifications. Part of the $6-million borrowing authority council has requested in the Alternative Approval Process is immediately necessary to this end.

Rossland faces more than $40 million in necessary infrastructure upgrades in the coming years. Regardless of which projects council ultimately decides to spend on, we need engineers’ drawings of the existing systems and potential modifications. Part of the $6-million borrowing authority council has requested in the Alternative Approval Process is immediately necessary to this end.

Ultimately, the money will come from two places: taxes and grants. To increase our tax base, we need more people to live here and more businesses to employ locals and draw money from beyond our borders. Some projects ­— like Red’s developments — do both.

For grants, there is no substitute for persistence. Earlier this month, council approved an application for $400,000, and on Monday staff asked council to endorse two more applications for up to $4 million each, both from the $1 billion available to B.C. communities over the next three years under the Gas Tax Agreement.

With one exception, council enthusiastically agreed to advance the application process. We’d be crazy not to.

One councillor seems to want Development Cost Charges (DCCs) from subdivisions ­— a.k.a. Red — to pay for everything. Sure, the DCC accounts, measured in mere tens of thousands, could be applied to a small portion of the Washington Street upgrades. But don’t expect much more. The 400-per-cent DCC increase Coun. Charlton recommends requires approval from B.C.’s Ministry of Finance — and they, quite simply, will not do that.

Why? Because we have zero growth: Since 2006, there has only been one new residential building permit granted at the base of Red.

Let’s face the facts together. We need to raise this money with co-operation and mutual understanding, not finger pointing.