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LETTER: Is it ‘political extortion’?

The $184,000 that Nelson pays into the district recreation funding is from taxation and benefits gained by virtue of the boundary expansion.
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Re: Pool renos clear hurdle, page 5

Two wrongs don’t make a right. Neither do three. It appears that Nelson mayor Deb Kozak does not believe these axioms that most of us understand and hold true. To characterize her “solution” as positive is laughable.

The $184,000 that Nelson pays into the district recreation funding is from taxation and benefits that Nelson gained by virtue of the boundary expansion that transferred the section of the river and dams south of Nelson from the rural areas to the City of Nelson.

This is a clear example of collaboration, cooperation and mutually beneficial action: Areas E and F agreed to the expansion and Nelson agreed that the money gained would be put back into shared recreation.

The result was much more money staying in our community: when this chunk of geography was rural a large portion of the tax revenue went to the province. Nelson and the rural areas collaborated to keep more money for us and less for Victoria. Who doesn’t like that?

This $184,000 used to be rural money; it was gifted to the city with the agreement it would go into shared recreation funding and that benefited all of us.

But now Ms. Kozak is going back on that deal. Along with the Nelson members she insisted on this money being returned to the City (Nelson cannot just keep it, decline to pay it, this deal is enshrined in law) or they would not approve the $4.5 million pool renovation which is already at a critical stage with nearly a half million already spent with the city’s prior consent.

This eleventh-hour demand is nothing more than political extortion plainly put.

Further, as the article notes the money returned to the city will now need to be replaced with taxation. The taxpayers of the city, Area F and west Area E have always been equal partners in the recreation funding. Since the beginning the tax rate has been the same: if you live in Nelson or the North Shore or Blewett and your property is valued at $400,000 you paid exactly the same tax for district recreation which was about $436 last year. This “solution” means that we will all be paying as much as $30 more but more importantly for the first time the property owners of Area F and west Area E will be paying effectively more that Nelson property owners.

The aforementioned $184,000 goes back to Nelson and Nelson only, the tax comes from everywhere so the net benefit to Nelson is likely around $60,000. So thanks very much, City of Nelson. We, outside the city, have been screwed and now pay higher rates for recreation than you.

The hypocrisy of this “solution” cannot be overstated. All partners in the recreation service agree that expanding the taxation is necessary and required for the long term.

That was how the discussion started. This “solution” does absolutely nothing to address that need, it is no more than the City of Nelson through its representation on the recreation commission extorting more money from its formerly equal partners. It is the worst of bully politics, brinkmanship and is profoundly divisive.

This is more than just disappointing coming from Ms. Kozak who ran for mayor on the platform of collaboration, cooperation and inclusiveness.

Her actions at the recreation commission table these past two weeks are pretty much the opposite.

Kevin LePape

Nelson