As a resident of St Albert it is disappointing to see that we seem to be making little progress when it comes to encouraging business and industry in St. Albert.
The city has taken over a large parcel of land and I guess the question I have is before they took over the land, did they not give any thought as to how they would use it?
Over the past decade since I returned to St Albert I have seen our taxes climb as well as our utility costs. I also have noticed that we seem no closer to the 80/20 tax split between residential and business portions. There is a great deal of talk by council as to the fact that St. Albert is open for business, but is it really?
The city fathers have seen fit to spend large sums of money on arts, craft, heritage and sports, all of which are funded by residential taxes. As a taxpayer of St. Albert, I would like to see fewer steps back to square one and a few more steps towards a more equitable tax split between business and residential.
This will only be attained by a serious commitment by city hall to actually convince business we are really open to business and light industry. I would like to see the city put forward a serious and comprehensive plan they will stick to and that will show the business sector St. Albert is serious and that the city planners will follow through on these plans without having to go back to square one.
Ted Sackett, St. Albert
