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In the above article Mr Rolke is taking pot shots at Coldstream Council, Regional Directors B&C and reserved his best shots for me. I will not speak for others but I believe my voters need to know the true facts as Mr Rolke seems to have lost his bearings. So here it comes:
"Whatever you say, Mr Rolke! If you say it, it must be true!
While I do not owe Mr Rolke any explanation regarding my actions I will make a couple of observations so that Coldstream taxpayers will be properly informed.
1. The initial proposal for the hefty water rate increases was presented at the February meeting of GVAC. It was a total surprise to the Committee as the item was not listed on the Agenda (in fact I believe Mr Rolke missed that debate). I argued against the hefty rate increases proposed by staff. I pointed out the promises made by politicians and staff that would only require slight increases in rates over the next 20 years. Response from staff was that due to previous(?) mismanagement of the program we were dangerously short of funds and if we were to meet our financial obligations we needed those increases. Obviously, we had to provide the required funds for now and search for improved fiscal models for the future. I had no idea that the 9% increase was covering the agriculture water as well. Unfortunately, the agriculture representatives were not present to raise the issue due to the missing agenda item.
2. At the March meeting of GVAC Mr Osborn was present and raised the issue. Committee members agreed to have staff review the possible revision of the agricultural water rate but it was not ready for the March 17 NORD meeting. It is true that the budget was passed without the review but that is the Budget Bylaw. According to my understanding staff must present the Rates Bylaw at a future meeting for approval by the Board and that Bylaw might have adjustments for agricultural rates.
The sentence that really surprised me in Mr Rolke’s musings was: “It’s always easier to pin the blame on someone else than taking the time to look in your own backyard.” How true!
In 2004 I was actively campaigning against the referendum for the borrowing of $35 million, noting the many inaccuracies in the material presented to the taxpayers. Prior to the famous referendum I sent out 5,000 fliers to Coldstream residents through the Morning Star, pointing out the problems and misrepresentations and urging residents to reject the referendum.
As I delivered the fliers to the Morning Star office I came across Mr Rolke and pointed out these problems to him and begged him to investigate. I begged him to read the Executive summary of the Master Water Plan of 2002, specifically Point 5 (Click on The original Master Water Plan in green and proceed to page iv) .
He refused, stating that he was worried that if the referendum did not pass his and everyone else’s water rates would go sky high the following couple of years. Had he read the Plan he could have noted the inconsistencies and informed his readers of the real facts. The plan could have been defeated and a new improved plan developed.
I have been a consistent critic of the mismanagement of the MWP and the misuse of taxpayers funds. I keep informing taxpayers so they can see what is happening to their money and what direction Coldstream is taking. I can only hope that Mr Rolke has the same goals in mind.
A final point: had I voted against the budget I am sure Mr Rolke would have castigated me for grandstanding for having voted against the budget while all other Directors supported it. When it comes to Mr Rolke, I can never do the right thing and I am OK with that!
"Whatever you say, Mr Rolke! If you say it, it must be true!
While I do not owe Mr Rolke any explanation regarding my actions I will make a couple of observations so that Coldstream taxpayers will be properly informed.
1. The initial proposal for the hefty water rate increases was presented at the February meeting of GVAC. It was a total surprise to the Committee as the item was not listed on the Agenda (in fact I believe Mr Rolke missed that debate). I argued against the hefty rate increases proposed by staff. I pointed out the promises made by politicians and staff that would only require slight increases in rates over the next 20 years. Response from staff was that due to previous(?) mismanagement of the program we were dangerously short of funds and if we were to meet our financial obligations we needed those increases. Obviously, we had to provide the required funds for now and search for improved fiscal models for the future. I had no idea that the 9% increase was covering the agriculture water as well. Unfortunately, the agriculture representatives were not present to raise the issue due to the missing agenda item.
2. At the March meeting of GVAC Mr Osborn was present and raised the issue. Committee members agreed to have staff review the possible revision of the agricultural water rate but it was not ready for the March 17 NORD meeting. It is true that the budget was passed without the review but that is the Budget Bylaw. According to my understanding staff must present the Rates Bylaw at a future meeting for approval by the Board and that Bylaw might have adjustments for agricultural rates.
The sentence that really surprised me in Mr Rolke’s musings was: “It’s always easier to pin the blame on someone else than taking the time to look in your own backyard.” How true!
In 2004 I was actively campaigning against the referendum for the borrowing of $35 million, noting the many inaccuracies in the material presented to the taxpayers. Prior to the famous referendum I sent out 5,000 fliers to Coldstream residents through the Morning Star, pointing out the problems and misrepresentations and urging residents to reject the referendum.
As I delivered the fliers to the Morning Star office I came across Mr Rolke and pointed out these problems to him and begged him to investigate. I begged him to read the Executive summary of the Master Water Plan of 2002, specifically Point 5 (Click on The original Master Water Plan in green and proceed to page iv) .
He refused, stating that he was worried that if the referendum did not pass his and everyone else’s water rates would go sky high the following couple of years. Had he read the Plan he could have noted the inconsistencies and informed his readers of the real facts. The plan could have been defeated and a new improved plan developed.
I have been a consistent critic of the mismanagement of the MWP and the misuse of taxpayers funds. I keep informing taxpayers so they can see what is happening to their money and what direction Coldstream is taking. I can only hope that Mr Rolke has the same goals in mind.
A final point: had I voted against the budget I am sure Mr Rolke would have castigated me for grandstanding for having voted against the budget while all other Directors supported it. When it comes to Mr Rolke, I can never do the right thing and I am OK with that!
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1 comment:
If you don't read the newspaper, you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed.
Mark Twain
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