Much has been said, written, tweeted and otherwise communicated about the actions of Township Mayor Rick Green in October, 2009, following release of a version (minus almost all individual names) of the Lidstone Report by Township council last week.
As The Times’ Oct. 20 editorial suggested, it is worthwhile for interested citizens to read the report for themselves and draw their own conclusions. It isn’t easy to so do, given the missing names.
While the report does emphasize the vital importance of leadership and the deep divisions on council over the past three years, I hope that the entire Township election does not revolve around it. There are many important issues that Township voters need to consider, as they prepare to cast their ballots. I sincerely hope many more do so than the usual 18 to 20 per cent who turn up.
Here are a few issues that I believe need consideration.
1 - Tax rates. Township council has, for much of the last decade, boosted taxes by three to five per cent annually. This has been driven by wage increases to unionized employees and the decision to implement a full-time fire department, albeit in just four halls thus far.
There are no immediate plans to expand the full-time fire service, but bargaining with union employees will be undertaken soon — and any wage increases will end up as tax increases.
In my opinion, unionized employees in the Township need to accept a wage freeze, given that they have had steady increases while most private sector employees and people on fixed incomes have seen almost no extra income for most of the past three years. Taxes should not go up more than two per cent annually for the next three years.
2 - Water service to rural areas of Langley. One of the greatest challenges for Township firefighters is the water supply in rural areas. Simply put, there isn’t any they can get at easily. Thus when they get a call for a home or barn fire, they must have a stream of tankers coming to the scene.
Given this problem, the declining Hopington Aquifer, and the expense that rural property owners incur to keep their wells operating, it’s high time council began work on a long-term plan to supply water to the entire Township.
3 - Brookswood/Fernridge development. This area of the Township will urbanize eventually, yet the planning department appears to have neither the staff nor the time to come up with a vision for the area. It is an issue few council candidates seem willing to address as well (Brookswood resident Wayne Crossen is an exception). This issue needs attention, not just from a land development point of view, but also from a long-term and sustainability perspective.
4. The 200 Street corridor — This is the heart of the urban portion of Langley Township. Yet it has been dealt with on a piecemeal basis for years. The Township needs to work with the City and come up with a cohesive plan for the entire corridor, from the Fraser River to the border. The plan should include details about transit, urban densities (maybe even highrises), commercial nodes and have at least a 50-year outlook.
There are many other issues as well. I urge citizens to talk to candidates about those they see as important.