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HAY RIVER
Lisa Smith is leading a fight for tax fairness in the Corridor area of Hay River.

Lisa Smith, president of the Hay River Corridor Ratepayers Association, stands next to Highway 2, which is the backbone of the Corridor area. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

She is president of the Hay River Corridor Ratepayers Association, which represents people in the southern area of the community along Highway 2 to the boundary with Enterprise.

For the last couple of years, the association has been trying to convince Hay River town council that there was an agreement in 1997 to keep municipal taxes in the Corridor area at 80 per cent of what they are in the main area of town because of a lower level of services in the area.

"Our main goal is to achieve an agreement for fair and equitable taxation, and we would be very happy if council would respect the previous agreement that was made," said Smith.

The association is the successor organization to the Hay River Corridor Group, which formed in the 1980s when discussions began between the Town of Hay River and the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs about the municipality annexing the Corridor area.

The Corridor was annexed in 1991.

Smith has lived in the area since 1998 and became involved in the Hay River Corridor Group in 1999.

The Corridor Group became less active after an agreement was in place.

However, Smith said the agreement was breached in 2004 when municipal taxation increased beyond the 80 per cent of what was paid in the rest of Hay River.

"The Corridor was not made aware of that and the Corridor Group was inactive during that time," she said. "So it's just a couple of years ago that the Corridor Group – I guess me – started looking at it and realized that taxation rates were at 90 per cent of what town taxation rates were."

That was when the Hay River Corridor Ratepayers Association was formed.

However, Hay River town council has not yet recognized the previous agreement and has been asking for more information.

"That's what I don't understand because there is a letter from the mayor in 1996 and there is another letter in 1997," said Smith. "There are letters and documentation indicating that the mill rate will be set at 80 per cent."

She called the situation extremely frustrating.

There are about 68 residences and a couple of hundred people in the Corridor.

Smith said to some extent it feels like she is fighting town hall.

"The thing is we don't want to have a fight with town hall," she said. "I just don't understand why they wouldn't respect a previous agreement that was in place."

Smith said she has tried to maintain reasonable discussions with the town despite her frustrations, noting more can be accomplished that way.

"Being adversarial doesn't really help anyone and, not only that, we are part of Hay River and those councillors represent us," she said.

Smith said she is optimistic the issue will eventually be resolved.

Some people have encouraged her to run for council.

"I have considered it, but I'm just not sure if I want to do that yet," she said. "I am very interested. Everybody keeps telling me to run for council."

She is not considering running in next year's municipal election.

Her involvement with the Hay River Corridor Ratepayers Association is not the first time Smith has been involved with a citizens' group.

In the late 1990s, she was spokesperson for a group concerned about the environmental implications of establishing a beryllium processing plant on the outskirts of Hay River.

"We succeeded in bringing that to a halt and I think that's something that I'm pretty happy about because I think there would have been very long-term negative implications for Hay River if that processing facility went there," she said.

She has also been involved in the community as president of the Hay River Playschool for two years, a Sparks leader and a Sunday school teacher.

Smith was born in Vernon, B.C., but has lived in Hay River since she was four years old.

The 38-year-old married mother of three young children works as a forester with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

She has a Bachelor of Science in geography and environmental science from McGill University in Montreal.

Smith said she enjoys living on an acreage just south of the Hay River Golf Club in the Corridor area.

"It offers a really fun lifestyle, especially when you have a young family," she said. "There's lots of stuff to do. You're in the wilderness. It offers a bit of a different lifestyle than living in town."

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