| Response from Kimberly Lineger
1. Responsible
management of
the Trust budget.
In the present system of
local taxation – the “buck” doesn’t stop anywhere. Many groups are
responsible for how our tax dollars are spent – the SSI Fire
District, CRD, Islands Trust, Library Board, Parks and Recreation
Commission, Water Districts and in many instances the final decision
about how our tax dollars are spent is made in Victoria. Over the
last three years, the Islands Trust budget has increased $1.4
million dollars with no clear understanding of how your tax dollars
have been spent. There needs to be better financial management of
our local tax dollars, first to improve responsiveness of services
for taxes collected and second we must retain local taxes to meet
local needs, wherever possible.
As Trustee, I will work to create a better balance between
Trust-wide and local tax allocation factors to ensure responsible
management of the Trust budget.
2. To Preserve and Protect.
The mandate of
the Islands Trust charges us to think and to act to preserve and
protect the land we live on. Yet, our ability to successfully carry
out the Trust mandate effectively depends largely on an intangible
connection between Our Land, Our People, and Our Community. Our
Land is the natural environment that sustains all life. Our People
are the individuals who live and work here, the beneficiaries of the
Trust mandate. Our Community is the collective energy to govern
ourselves so we can carry out the Trust mandate while balancing the
needs of the land and its people. We cannot successfully protect
our land at the expense of the people who live here. As Islanders,
we need to start thinking about how we balance the needs of Our
Land, Our People and Our Community to successfully preserve and
protect ALL for our children.
3.
Local economy. Sustaining community.
Our Island economy
reflects and helps sustain the unique nature of Salt Spring’s people
and natural environment. A healthy community is what creates a
healthy economy and visa-versa. Our thriving and diverse economy
should be comprised of small-scale, locally and/or community owned
businesses, services and value-added industries, agriculture, as
well as low-impact tourism. Employment opportunities for youth and
families should be widely available. Local government, business and
community groups working together can create and finance the
infrastructure necessary for the prosperity and common good of all.
Everyone should be able to support themselves doing what they love.
As Trustee, I will support land use
decisions that encourage activities that promote local and
individual self-sufficiency.
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