I have read with some interest the letters criticizing St. Albert’s council for its lack of harmony. Actually, it is about time that there have been some serious differences on council. It is unfortunate that it is sometimes acrimonious but don’t our Parliament and legislature have a great deal of acrimony? You see, this is one of the costs of living in a true democracy. Whether elected or not, when no one questions those in power we have a dictatorship or, at best, a very poor government.
St. Albert has for years suffered from a harmonious council and what do we have to show for it, probably the highest taxes of any city in Alberta. (Since I bought my house, I have watched my residential taxes increase to where they are from $300 to $3,000 over the taxes on my parents’ house in Edmonton.) A failure by council to seriously listen to St. Albert’s residents, just ask the residents of Erin Ridge and Akinsdale how well they were heard by council. Why else would we have a DARP proposal passed that will cost millions of dollars that we cannot afford? How about a sports complex that is not self-sustaining, as council assured us, and that we now have to support. How about the failure to attract commercial business to the city to help offset residential taxes? Didn’t the prior city manager state that he had no intention of soliciting commercial businesses? Sure, he is no longer with us but it took a long time to replace him.
Pressure groups have been far more successful at gaining council’s interest and support than St, Albert’s constituents have. Coun. Bob Russell takes exception to the library’s attempts to put pressure on him to expand and is trounced. Perhaps we cannot afford to expand the library at this time. With northern Alberta’s primary income, the oilsands, suffering, there isn’t any doubt that the Edmonton region will suffer as well.
OPEC states that it has no interest in raising oil prices. Perhaps it is time to freeze our taxes and cut out any unnecessary expenses until the economy improves. More importantly, perhaps it is time to elect councillors that actually care about St. Albert’s Residents and what they can afford. Dave Evans, St. Albert
