If one were to go back to the last municipal elections in 2005, it’s likely promises were made of more open, transparent government.
But that promise was cast aside Monday as members of Vernon and Coldstream councils met behind closed doors.
And such action is highly questionable when you consider that the topic was the city’s decision to withdraw from the Greater Vernon water utility. That decision and all of the reasoning had already been the focus of a press release late last week.
Also consider that a number of politicians were willing to discuss the issue in length Tuesday. If they legitimately felt that the meeting should be in-camera under provincial legislation, they wouldn’t take the chance and provide details later.
It’s been suggested by some politicians that the meeting needed to private because of the possible legal and labour implications of the city leaving the utility. And there may be some merit to that argument, but only those aspects should have been held in-camera then, and not the entire session.
The public has a right to know what is going on with the water utility, especially when millions of dollars have been invested not only in infrastructure but in establishing a single water utility for all of Greater Vernon.
When the Greater Vernon Services Committee was formed in 2001, the politicians of the day assured residents that it would be a more effective form of governance and providing service. Now that it’s going sideways, those same taxpayers need to know what went wrong.
Coldstream and Vernon councils dropped the ball Monday, and reinforced the common perception that the public isn’t supposed to be seen or heard.
But that promise was cast aside Monday as members of Vernon and Coldstream councils met behind closed doors.
And such action is highly questionable when you consider that the topic was the city’s decision to withdraw from the Greater Vernon water utility. That decision and all of the reasoning had already been the focus of a press release late last week.
Also consider that a number of politicians were willing to discuss the issue in length Tuesday. If they legitimately felt that the meeting should be in-camera under provincial legislation, they wouldn’t take the chance and provide details later.
It’s been suggested by some politicians that the meeting needed to private because of the possible legal and labour implications of the city leaving the utility. And there may be some merit to that argument, but only those aspects should have been held in-camera then, and not the entire session.
The public has a right to know what is going on with the water utility, especially when millions of dollars have been invested not only in infrastructure but in establishing a single water utility for all of Greater Vernon.
When the Greater Vernon Services Committee was formed in 2001, the politicians of the day assured residents that it would be a more effective form of governance and providing service. Now that it’s going sideways, those same taxpayers need to know what went wrong.
Coldstream and Vernon councils dropped the ball Monday, and reinforced the common perception that the public isn’t supposed to be seen or heard.
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