Savvy Taxpayers

They're watching Coldstream and Vernon more than ever.

And not liking what they see.

Yet another Letter to Editor, Vernon Morning Star, February 13, 2013, condensed for brevity:

"The electorate of Vernon have three mutually contradictory objectives:  low, zero or, (gasp!), even negative, changes to tax rates, no increases in user fees, and no reductions in services.

"Why is it always easier to find reasons to spend

than to not spend?"

W.Polnicky

These three goals cannot be attained simultaneously unless the overall size of the economy of Vernon grows, so that we have a larger tax base to fund the same level of services with no tax or user fee increases...
During the last civic election campaign a number of residents expressed concern about the parlous(sic...perilous) state of the local economy.

I recently attended the 'public workshop' in support of the...Core Services Review.  Most of the potential cost-savings opportunities presented, some of them in the millions of dollars per year, were summarily rejected by the public present.

Why is it always easier to find reasons to spend than to not spend?  Why is it always easier to hire more staff than to reduce staff, this at a time when the amount and proportion of the city budget dedicated to staff wages continues to grow faster than either the tax base or the population?  How can this possibly be sustainable?

Have we not learned from the Canadian experience in the 1990s, and the U.S. and European experiences right now that, while paying the piper can be postponed at a cost, sooner or later he insists on being paid?

...an obvious first step is for our political leaders to declare their vision and commitment to the world (business, investment, entrepreneurs, other governments...) -- that Vernon's exclusive focus is the economy, and that all other considerations, bar none, are of far less importance.

Ah, but I hear you muttering under your breath, what about my favourite crusade (insert personal agenda here)?  Well, if Vernon cannot afford to pay for your favoured program, it will have to be cut in the future if not today, so why don't we stop bickering over who gets a slice of a shrinking pie and instead try to make the pie larger?  

...If we continue on our current trajectory, our city will continue to slide into irrelevance, our taxes will increase, our services will diminish, and our city bureaucracy will increase until it consumes our entire budget.  We need to wake up from our Okanagan dreamland and face reality."     Wynn Polnicky.

"Preferably before we become another ghost town," offers Kia.

Ah...the North Okanagan experience.

Dismissing KPMG's Recommendation

Why pay for an independent "efficiencies" study and then summarily dismiss its recommendations?
Common sense recommendations.

Even when there are successful 10-year old examples such as Ottawa amalgamating with 10 surrounding communities.

That's just what Vernon has done, with Mayor Sawatzky's cursory dismissal of its findings.
Again and again.  

Seems all elected officials, including former Muni Minister Ida Chong, dismiss amalgamation.

And all along, Mayor Garlick of adjacent Coldstream walks the same walk as Sawatzky when considering the North Okanagan's governance.

But only the elected officials as this Letter to the Editor indicates.

February 17, 2013 The Morning Star
by Brandon Lee

"Wow.  So let me understand this.  Our current mayor is elected because one of his platforms was to see where they could reduce cost and create efficiencies.  Now the company, KPMG, hired to do the work, suggests amalgamation may save costs but the mayor refuses to consider it because it might stir up controversy and they would have to repair the level of dysfunction?

And all along, I thought we elected officials to make the tough decisions.

It really doesn't take rocket science to figure out that there are huge tax dollars being spent because our local politicians don't want to stir up controversy.

Within a five-minute drive is the municipality of Coldstream which has its own council and staff -- all paid for by tax dollars of course.  And yet, Coldstream really is a bedroom community of Vernon because there really isn't a business core in Coldstream at all and most people who live in Coldstream go to work elsewhere.  

Around the corner, we have RDNO which has a huge building of its own -- again paid by tax dollars.  You really have to wonder exactly what it is that RDNO does as I'm sure there's a good sum that's necessary to maintain that operation.

So at the end of the day, none of the politicians within the Greater Vernon area really want to consider amalgamation because obviously some politicians won't have their apple box to stand on and that just wouldn't be acceptable now, would it?

Never mind the possible tax dollars that could be saved considering this.

How about this novel idea instead?  Put it up as an election issue and see how the Greater Vernon population feel about it and let the taxpayers decide.
Brandon Lee."


"But make it binding," stipulates Kia, remembering the referendum on DoC's municipal hall...which was built anyway.
   
Novel idea indeed.

No Balls, No Vision

Ignoring Study results.
Politicians are good at that in the North Okanagan.

They ask for input from the public, then ignore the common sense ideas.
More and more residents are aware of that, proven again in yet another Letter to the Editor by Sally Gorby of Vernon, stating "They ask people what they want; then do exactly as they please."

That's nothing new to those of us living in Coldstream. 
The new Municipal Hall comes to mind.

Politicians commission expensive studies from consultants, and then ignore crucial findings. 
Recently, the most noteworthy is KPMG's report, whose recommendations included "amalgamating Vernon, Coldstream and the electoral areas."

"The best way is likely difficult to achieve, if not impossible.  You need to restructure local government to be more efficient."

                                                                                        KPMG Senior Manager Bourne      
Seems Vernon's Mayor Sawatzky isn't keen to "open old wounds".
Open old wounds?

No balls for constructive change is more like it.
No vision beyond his term.

And, while today mute on the subject, Coldstream's Mayor Garlick is in lockstep with that position.
No Amalgamation.

Governance change--and the Amalgamation issue--sure to consistently save taxpayer money over the current model (if it can be called a model) aren't new ideas here.  Even sometime-minister Ida Chong requested a review, based on demands from officials and the public, then waffled and did nothing.

KPMG's senior manager, Brian Bourne, noted of the amalgamation recommendation, "The best way is likely difficult to achieve, if not impossible.  You need to restructure local government to be more efficient."
He probably lives here.

Even former councillors can see further into the future, evidenced by Shawn Lee's comment regarding a resident's request to be annexed into Vernon:  "Perhaps if some sort of boundary could be determined by the province that would delineate Vernon's ultimate geographic area...an area that could reduce the amount of governance of Greater Vernon."  He concludes:  "...the debate over this most recent request to join Vernon demonstrates the political unsustainability of municipal boundaries as they now stand."

Over-governance quickly enters the realm of the ridiculous.
Take Coldstream's new method for dealing with water concerns.
Calling the new plan "better service", Coldstream's chief poobah Stamhuis said people would previously be told to call the regional district office when they phoned the municipal office to complain about, say, dirty water coming out of their tap.  Just such an incident over the Christmas holidays led to a three-day delay before the Coldstream homeowner actually had someone from the Regional District attend her water event (where it was eventually determined zero residual chlorine was present in her household's waterline.)

Don't politicians see that residents can't get the hang of who is in control of what in these myriad administrations?  Little of it makes sense.
A sure sign of over-governance.

So what happened?  Coldstream has decided that a Coldstream bureaucrat will make the phone call on the homeowners' behalf to the Regional District a mile north.

Hallelujah!
Heaven forbid we mere taxpayers could also circumvent the sleeping switchboard's recorded message ourselves. 

Back to the "A" word...amalgamation.
Despite having seen Ottawa's amalgamation with 10 municipalities, our elected officials have no taste for getting down to real business and saving real taxpayer money.   Now 10 years later, people now understand its benefits.
Local government isn't above using the phrase economies of scale, but only when it suits them.
Case in point the poorly handled issue of the Okanagan Landing Firefighters, where firefighter training and call-outs are being consolidated.  Yup, for economies of scale.

Open your window.
Audible are sighs of relief from bureaucrats in Coldstream and Vernon and the Regional District that there'll be no amalgamation.

Politicians hate change.

Taxpayers have no choice whether to accept change...a mind-boggling list of new bylaws, regulations and permits abound...everything from where you can park on your property and how many vehicles can be parked there, to the "form and character" of what you want to build on your property.

So let's look at 'form and character'.
And see government disobeying their own bylaws.
Proof is the recent replacement of Vernon Secondary School, smack amid the built-up South Hill.  Numerous neighbours state "it looks like a prison, where's the form and character in that?"

"Where's the 'form and character' here?  It resembles a prison."

The old Vernon Secondary School, now being "deconstructed", chock-full of  'form and character.'

Where indeed!

Politicians say they're working hard to reduce taxes for 2013.
But that they have to focus on water, parks, fire training consolidation, and the proposed sports facility which is going to referendum in spring.  

Vernon's tax hike is currently running at 4.7 per cent.
To help fill coffers, Vernon is considering upping parking rates.  Downtown Vernon Merchants are shaking their heads in disbelief as more and more cars opt for the free parking at malls in Vernon's north end.  Vernon has plans (again) for revitalizing downtown...oh oh, say the merchants, now what are they doing to us?

Coldstream says it has "financial pressures", and taxes will increase by 4.12 per cent.
Financial pressures?  Ya think?

But Mayor Garlick still wants a Town Centre for Coldstream; we suppose he hasn't seen the For Rent, For Lease and For Sale signs for retail and commercial space from here to Enderby.  The Shops at Polson remain half empty, partially because the new connection road (that would eliminate the two uphill Mall Exits during icy winters) was never built; and partially because commercial lease rates in the Okanagan aren't justifiable for the small population it can attract.  Garlick's other wishlist at Trintec can't find an anchor tenant, again because lessees consider demographics.   The former Consumers Glass facility remains empty, chiefly because Mayor Garlick decided he didn't want to split it up into marketable units.
Ahem.
Because a film studio might one day be interested in the site...sheesh.
Guess he doesn't realize international films consider the strength of the Canadian dollar...and opt not to come here.

Coldstream Councillor Kiss' comment from a meeting last year still reverberates:  "We can be $19 million in debt."
Unless residents intercede, Coldstream will be.

"No guts, no glory," offers Kia, anticipating more of the over-governance we've come to know, but not love.