To the Editor,
Re: Property owners wonder how tax dollars spent, June 30.
It is not only Victoria Crescent that is left out of the loop by the BIA.
For years I have owned property and a building on Franklyn Street and have not had one bit of help for the $550.33 I am again forced to shovel into the BIA money pit.
My road does not even have a bike rack or Christmas decoration supplied by the association, never mind anything else it boastfully claims to be the saviour of elsewhere.
From all I can see on my BIA map is smiling faces taking my chequebook and spending a small portion of it on physical improvements to Commercial Street, so city fathers can be tricked into believing something is being done with the windfall.
Why does this organization get $400,000 in taxes, half from 400 business property owners throughout a huge area, only to stroke the backs of a few select business types, politicians and streets?
Unfortunately, only two of the 11 DNBIA board members know what it feels like to pay the extra tax, as they own commercial property. The other nine board members do not, so they do not pay the very tax they somehow cannot righteously distribute or manage.
It only seems fair that if the majority of us get nothing for our money, we should pay nothing.
Randy Stearman
Nanaimo