We are again at the point where the rubber hits the road for the taxpayers. Our budget is seeing an increase in taxation (just over five per cent) and an increase in various fees. What is apparent to me is that both homeowners and businesses can't sustain the increase year after year.
That leaves us with a choice of reducing services and service levels or raising more revenue. I believe that our community was much healthier financially, our downtown business environment significantly better, and our community volunteer availability higher when we had a thriving industry base that provided both taxation and local, family-supporting jobs. While we try to attract replacement industry for those entities that have left, we should continue to encourage as much diversity in the economy as possible by being open for business of all kinds.
Council has approved incentives we believe will bring business investment into the community. Together and independently, we have spent significant effort working to create the best possible relationships to encourage investment. I recently spent the day of the "B.C. Budget Lockup" in Victoria discussing Squamish opportunities with many business and provincial government leaders. Our economic development office has also made significant efforts in partnership with the B.C. government's investment office.
I believe the next six months will truly provide great news for our community. Some, like the opening of the new Sea to Sky Gondola, we know. Other possibilities include the sale and start of development of the SODC lands, Woodfibre LNG, more industrial tenants in the Business Park, and perhaps a rescaled version of GAS.
There has been significant mail received recently regarding LNG, and some of the specific concerns have been addressed by council by passing motions that deal with air quality and the development of a tax rate for any potential facility. I can tell you that I personally support this project as long as it passes the environmental review. Council has asked both the provincial government and the project owners if we could develop a training facility along with the plant, which would benefit Squamish as well as other LNG projects with the provision of trained workers.
This morning, I attended a breakfast with Prime Minister Harper that was put on by the B.C. Chamber of Commerce. The Prime Minister has just returned from Korea where a new free trade agreement has been signed between Canada and Korea. It was very interesting to be in a question-and-answer session about these new economic opportunities, but our local challenge remains how to bring the benefits to Squamish from this kind of agreement.
