To the editor:
Re: "City hall task force targets housing 'affordability crisis,'" June 27.
If the City of Vancouver is really worried about our housing crisis, then a good first step is for the city to start living within its own budget.
For well over a decade, the city has blown its budget and inflicted yearly tax increases mostly above the rate of inflation. Compared to a decade ago, average taxes are up over 50 per cent, and that doesn't include astronomical increases in parking, and windfall "profits" in development and licensing fees.
Mayor and council are quick to throw around buzzwords like "sustainability" yet are apparently oblivious to the fact that increasing taxes at the rate of over 50 per cent every 10 years is anything but sustainable. Vancouver's chronic out of control spending is an important contributor to the so-called "affordability crisis."
Robert Wilson, Vancouver
