THE spat between the District of West Vancouver and B.C. Ferries over the abrupt revaluation of the Horseshoe Bay terminal has exposed flawed thinking at two levels of government.
First, there is the absurd notion the waterfront industrial property is worth only $20. The claim - built on the idea that the terms of a lease can determine a piece of real estate's value - is a blatant effort by the cash-strapped company to download losses onto whoever it can.
West Vancouver's taxpayers shouldn't bear the brunt of B.C. Ferries' operational issues: Just as Dr. Frankenstein is responsible for his monster, so should the province be responsible for its own diabolical creation.
The district, of course, is right to fight this all the way to the top - and it may well win - but West Vancouver council isn't blameless for the pickle in which it finds itself as a result of the dip in revenue.
While the mayor and council never miss an opportunity to remind constituents how many years they've gone without a tax increase, they rarely call attention to the difficulties that policy can create.
By making a cap on taxes its top priority, the district has eliminated what little wiggle room it had to compensate for the unexpected. Cut to the bone, it has few options for reworking its budget to make up for even a modest change in costs or revenue.
When you leave yourself no space for error, a bump in the road can send you flying.
