Surrey mayor says TransLink needs sustainable funding plan
Posted Nov 10, 2010 02:16:45 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SURREY (NEWS1130) – Surrey mayor says she won’t vote for property tax hikes to pay for expanded transit. Dianne Watts insists another funding formula, other than going back to the property tax well, needs to be found to finance transit projects.
Watts says, “When I look at the city of Surrey, we give into the system $44 million in property taxes every year. Another $100 million in gas taxes. There is already a toll on the Golden Ears, there is going to be tolls on the Port Mann, [and] there is going to be tolls on the new Pattullo Bridge.”
TransLink has sent two proposals to the Council of Mayors for their approval, one calling for a $36 increase in property taxes for the average Lower Mainland household. The other plan more than $60 per year. The two plans cover the Evergreen Line and North Fraser Perimeter Road. One also includes a massive expansion of bus service.
The mayors vote December 9th.
