The Ladysmith Ratepayers Association 2018 (LRA) would like to announce its formation, giving the town’s property and business owners a voice and a source of information and representation on taxation and other important community issues.
The LRA, whose executive is comprised of local Ladysmith residents from all walks of life, is committed to keeping its members informed on important issues such as taxation, urban development, community planning, and health and safety.
“We’re very excited to announce the start of the membership drive for the LRA. In our recent discussions with a wide cross-section of Ladysmith residents, we identified a need for a more effective public channel of communication, both among the community and with developers and our Town’s elected Council,” said LRA President Vicky Stickwood-Hislop.
“We look forward to working co-operatively with all decision-makers to promote understanding and transparency of their activities and strategies as this town grows in a sustainable manner to realise its potential.”
LRA membership is open to all residents and businesses that pay residential, commercial and/or industrial property taxes in Ladysmith.
Other board members include Russell Barling, vice president; Eva Vincent, secretary and treasurer; and directors at large Rob Johnson, Erik Piikkila and John Vincent.
Aside from monitoring and clarifying matters of taxation and public spending, the Association will be forming committees to explore and explain to its membership the status of critical issues such the Town’s water supply, housing, public infrastructure, public transportation, health services and parks and recreational facilities.
As one of its first initiatives, the LRA Board will host an informal ‘meet and greet’ on October 18th from 7-9pm at the Eagles Hall to give prospective candidates for council a platform to deliver their campaign messages to the public.
“In talking to our friends and neighbours, we found Ladysmith residents to be full of questions that just aren’t being answered,” said Stickwood-Hislop. “We see our role as an independent Association that will strive to provide the ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘where’ and ‘how much’ of community issues that affect the livelihood and well-being of our members. The LRA will also be working with other ratepayer associations on Vancouver Island to achieve our common goals.”
For more information on joining the LRA, our Board of Directors, Constitution, Mission and other timely LRA topics, please visit our website at www.lra2018.org. A Facebook page is also pending.
