Dear Editor:
Burnaby city council has recently voted to increase water and sewer rates in order to pay for infrastructure upgrades that are no doubt needed and required to protect the safety of our drinking water, but the reasons given for why the amount was so high are not especially appealing.
Claiming that the costs were so high because Metro Vancouver made them raise the fees is an act of political cowardice and simply passes the buck when it's clearly something that our municipal government should be able to explain and maintain accountability for.
The voters gave the Burnaby Citizens Association (BCA) a unanimous council for the second term in a row, and there's nothing wrong with that.
What is wrong is the idea that this kind of fee increase can be made and then blaming it on another political group.
We're not unintelligent people. Council should simply explain why the fees were so high and what the benefits of spending now are compared to the future costs involved in delaying these upgrades.
Given the opportunity and all the information, I feel comfortable saying that Burnaby citizens would be willing to view the issue rationally and accept the need for improvements.
Voters trusted the BCA with an enormous mandate because they trusted the party to do what was best for citizens; prove it by speaking honestly with the public and talking about the issue on the merits.
Trevor Ritchie, Burnaby
