Mayoral candidates address taxes, spending, Ajax during forum

Sep 19, 2017 | 9:38 AM

KAMLOOPS — Mayoral candidates like Stu Holland are trying to ensure it’s not a ‘one-horse race,’ as some have been saying weeks into by-election campaigning. 

Holland made that clear during Monday night’s candidates forum at the Sagebrush Theatre that attracted around 250 people. The five candidates in attendance — with Todd Mcleod out of town working — were asked three media questions, including their thoughts on candidate Bill McQuarrie’s proposal to freeze property taxes next year. 

“I don’t want to come before you and promise you a zero per cent tax increase,” said mayoral candidate Ken Christian. “That’s like plucking a number out of the air. Why isn’t it minus-one?”

Glen Hilke said, “We need to look at our tax system and we need to see if we should have a progressive tax plan, not one that’s flat, but one that responds to the actual situations of people.”

McQuarrie responded, “My goal for a one year, and it is a one-year freeze on taxes, is to not to add $2.6 million to a $162 million budget. The past administration has spent almost two times that amount simply on the acquisition of the now infamous parking lot on 4th and Seymour.”

The former Daily News building was another hot topic on Monday with citizens asking candidates about fiscal mismanagement. 

“How many of you are going to take control of City Hall and stop the wasteful money that’s going on with $8 million parking lot that we got there now,” said one citizen. “Go downtown tonight and look at them filling up a bloody hole there with the debris that’s coming out of there.”

Holland is partly running to clean up excess spending at City Hall. 

“When they pay $20,000 for some guy at an engineering firm to design a parking lot. I got an 8-year-old stepson at home. I can draw that out, width times length. He could building a parking lot for free,” said Holland. 

Candidates also got to put in their two cents on how council has handled Ajax. 

“They failed,” said Holland, who was the only candidate who is openly for Ajax. “They literally failed. They took taxpayers’ money and they wasted it.”

Christian added, “What I fear is that we’re going to be setting up a urban-industrial interface that’s going to last long into the future and is going to be problematic. So I don’t believe the mine should be there.”

Mike McKenzie said, “Kamloops is not together on this issue. We don’t come together. We don’t even treat the people who say ‘no’ or ‘yes’ with respect from the other side. It’s literally why I’m here today.”

There will be another forum next Tuesday hosted by the North Shore Business Improvement Association.