“The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing.”

-Jean Baptiste Colbert, finance minister to Louis XIV

Source: West Vancouver Annual Reports for 2009 and 2010. As of 2008 a major accounting change affected capital expenses, but prior years were not restated. This had the effect of understating the base years (2005-2007) for the Ten Operating Divisions but overstating these years for Total Municipal Expenses. Had prior years been restated total expense increases would have been around 30-35% instead of the 25-45% as calculated from the Annual Report numbers. S&B’s were not affected.

Total Municipal Salaries and Benefits Expenses

 View this document to see the source data and assumptions – S and B word doc

Divisional Operating Expenses

ITAC

 

Click the following to see a table of DWV Operating Cost increases – Copy of ITAC8 annual ops exp (3)

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The current economic situation explained in a single picture

This financial crisis deepens and this is forcing government agencies to make some tough decisions.
If things continue in the same fashion for much longer, there’s a real risk that they may have to lay off Joe

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This graph shows the 2006 expenditures per resident for the 21 Metro-Vancouver municipalities.

 

To view this graph…click on it, and a larger image will appear.

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