Dear Editor:
Re: City Divided on Restructure Study, March 5
I completely agree with Coun. Don Bell, that reactions to amalgamation are tinged with emotions and/or personal bias.
Let's be frank; we want to amalgamate in order to, among other things, save taxpayers some expenses, including bureaucrats' salaries. I find it unacceptable that certain councillors refuse even to take a look at the proposed study.
I find myself in the same position as many other North Shore residents, in that I pay property taxes in the district and pay business taxes in the city.My family and I use the city's library and the district's pool, so if I do not differentiate in my daily life whether I use the facilities of the city or the district, then why would my tax dollars? I congratulate Mayor Mussatto for amassing $100 million of my tax dollars in the bank, but may I remind him that without the support of the district residents, there would be no such surplus.
It is a gross overstatement that in the city and in the district there are "fundamental cultural differences with respect to the kind of communities we are and aspire to be," as Coun. Pam Bookham is quoted to say.
The same people who reside in the district frequent the restaurants and businesses and support the shopping malls and entertainment facilities in the city, and the city residents also venture to the district in search of recreation and entertainment, so how can anyone say we are fundamentally different? The only difference I see is that two streets down from my house the garbage gets picked up on a different day.
Reka Charlton
North Vancouver
