Why is the Council building a wall between the City and District?

First, Darryl's statement is typical of our elected officials in the City.  They like to use terms like "us" and "them" in order to protect their little status quo and what really matters to a status quo politician is their re-election.  Should not the highest priority be the residents of the City?  People who live north of 29th are not a scary enemy who wants to steal your money.

It is just inside baseball anyway, the people paying the bills need an end to continuous tax increases.  The people identify with North Van more than the old line of City and District.

We shouldn't be manipulated anymore.

We have reserves (not cash in the bank) which have spending restrictions to ensure the spending is on a directed purpose. No interest is used on general revenue.

Both the City and District have reserves most are set for normal costs. The District has reserves of 47,550,598 and the City has 97,988,000.

The City has created reserve funds like:

the Lower Lonsdale Amenity 9,225.000,

Lower Lonsdale Legecy 1,887,000,

the NMC money of 6.5 million,

the Marine Drive Community Amenity of 1,001,000 and the big one of "tax sale lands" over 48 million.

Amalgamation does not affect a Lower Lonsdale fund, it has to be spent there.

But would a new North Vancouver suffer the same tunnel vision of the defenders of the status quo?  4 members from the old city boundaries and 4 from the District elected separately like the School Board does now. One Mayor.

Darryl's view of "us" and "them" assumes that the District is a monolith. Since the original boundaries were drawn, the City has merged on the West and North side. In a combined Mayoral election the people on both sides would weigh the worth of candidates not which side of an imaginary line one used to be on. The voters are smarter than that.

I propose a referendum where both the City and District ask the same question with a set of conditions.  Are the status quo politicians afraid that it would be shown that the residents see through their lines?  In the last referendum, in 1981, the city voters almost approved a merger.

It is a myth that the City would not support a merger, it is the politicians who are strongly opposed to it.