Saturna Island Property Owners (SIPOA)
PO Box 27, Saturna, V0N 2Y0

email: sipoa@saturnanet.net

March 5, 2011

TO: Islands Trust

RE: Islands Trust Request for 2011/12 Budget Comments

Further to our letter of February 4th, 2011, I am writing again on behalf of the Saturna Island Property Owners Association (SIPOA).

We begin by stating that SIPOA expresses support for the original object of the Trust “… to preserve and protect the trust area and its unique amenities and environment for the benefit of the residents of the trust area and of British Columbia …”.

Nonetheless, in our previous letter we submitted our concern over the unconstrained growth in Islands Trust budgetary expenditures, which have compounded to a 74.8% increase, resulting in a near doubling, 94.3%, in the taxation component over the last 8 years. In recognition of these increases, SIPOA called for the Islands Trust to hold the line on any further increase in budget expenditures.

In addition, we expressed our concern with the presentation of percentages that masked the actual changes in taxpayer load in support of the budget, and remarked that such presentation was disingenuous.

On February 17, the Islands Trust issued a news release under the bold heading “Islands Trust Committee Proposes Reduction in Budget Increase”. Our association, along with others in the Islands, hoped, given the public concern raised about your previous budget proposal, that serious diligence had been applied toward reducing the proposed budget expenditures for the coming year.

However, it becomes clear on examining the text of the release that this is not the case at all. In fact, the press release is a notice of intent to perform a transfer from surplus funds in order to “buy-down”, with their own money, the portion of the increase to be borne by taxpayers.

A transfer of reserve funds to reduce taxes this year, without a corresponding reduction in budgetary expenditures, is a temporary measure only. It does not constitute a sustainable approach to funding and will require future increases in taxation. We see no efficiencies resulting from this approach, and see no evidence of effort being applied to reducing proposed expenditures.

Thus on behalf of SIPOA, and respecting the diversity of opinion of our members, the Board of Directors believes that there is a real need to call for a full review of the proposed budget expenditures0 and, at the very least, a freeze of those expenditures at the last year’s amount $5,755,081.

Finally, we wish to thank you again for the opportunity to participate in the budget process.

Sincerely,

Murray Rankin
President