Skip to content

LETTERS: City Hall locked up like a fortress at tax time

Paying property taxes in person all but impossible for seniors who are not tech savvy
25628905_web1_200611-PAN-ConstructionParking-parking_1

Editor:

An open letter to the council and mayor of White Rock

I am reaching out for help to pay my house taxes in the City of White Rock. What does it take to pay taxes in-person? I have tried to call city hall to get an appointment, with no response. The city hall building is secured like a fortress, completely inaccessible.

Navigating the website is an exercise in utter frustration.

I am a senior and want to pay my taxes in a timely manner, but cannot speak to a person nor see a person at city hall.

White Rock has a high ratio of seniors and the services at city hall are inaccessible to them. Many seniors are not computer savvy.

Other municipalities have had their offices open to the public during the pandemic (adhering to COVID protocols) but in White Rock, we have a fortress with very limited access to services. We see lineups of hundreds of people at vaccination centres, but in the City of White Rock, we cannot get in-person services. It is an outrage!

In order to purchase a parking pass, it has been the same scenario. It takes days, if not weeks, to get a returned call and then again weeks to wait for an appointment.

City councillors, I am requesting that you address this situation and create positive change for how services are dispensed to the taxpayers of White Rock.

Thank you for your ongoing work to make White Rock the best place to be.

Margaret Ann, White Rock