Re: Mayor responds to local concerns, Letters (June 27)
I appreciate your response in The Hope Standard and agree that certain tax increases are inevitable.
I also agree that providing tax incentives for business is a reasonable approach to stimulating improvements and enticing other business to the community.
That said, I am deeply concerned as a recent arrival that I may not be able to afford to live in my new home on my retirement income if this approach to budgeting continues; even small increases will hurt some seniors and low income homeowners.
In fact, it has already created hardship for some of my neighbours.
I would like to ask, and hopefully get a reply (something that has yet to happen with any of my emails to the town hall employees) about future plans for capital expenditures, staffing levels, salary ranges etc.
As for council salaries the amount paid, in the big picture, is quite negligible. That said, there is much discussion due on the number of council members and their length of service.
Government is not a career, it is a civic participation.
Ideally council should be refreshed every few years — otherwise the status quo becomes ingrained and change (progress) is often the victim, which I fear may be the case with Hope.
A small item may be travel expenses – there is always room for improvement particularly in this day and age of email, telecommuting/conferencing.
I would like to suggest a town hall meeting to address some of the current concerns and get a better insight into the council’s plans for the coming year(s).
Stan Kirkpatrick,
Hope
