With the BC municipal elections now in full swing (aren’t those signs lovely?), I can report that we have had dozens of candidates from all across British Columbia sign our Contract with Taxpayers and commit to introducing a Taxpayer Protection Bylaw if they are elected Nov. 19. It’s a very exciting time.

Candidates have until Friday afternoon, Nov. 4 to sign, and we will release a full list to our supporters and the media on Monday, Nov. 7. This week, we will blog about some of the individuals who have signed the Contract and why they wanted to support this CTF initiative. We have heard some very intelligent, innovative ideas on reducing property tax burdens and increasing accountability at City Halls, and we are excited by the calibre of candidates running this year.

These profiles are NOT an endorsement by the CTF—merely a report on what some of the Contract signers are doing.

Today, we look at Ken Charko, an NPA candidate for Council in the City of Vancouver.

Ken Charko wants taxpayers to know how money is being spent, and how big projects affect them. So he has proposed a more detailed property tax bill that would calculate individuals’ shares in significant things the City of Vancouver does. For example, if $5 million was spent on a new park, your tax bill would tell you how much of your property tax payment went toward that park.

“Taxpayers should know exactly where their money is going,” Charko said. “We should be able to see what our contributions to projects are, as another level of accountability.”

Charko said the budget process in Vancouver is flawed, because it first calculates expenditures, then figures out how taxpayers will have to foot the bill (i.e. property tax increases). “We should first find out what our income is, and then move to spending,” Charko said. “Right now, it’s backwards.”