"The silliness needs to end somewhere. That's the comment from Vernon Mayor Wayne Lippert when we asked him recently if amalgamation would solve the infighting in the North Okanagan Regional District... Vernon's Mayor says he brings up the issue of amalgamation with Ministers and the Premier every chance he gets. Lippert says more and more residents and businesses are asking for a merger of area communities. He says in recent talks with the Premier on amalgamation, Gordon Cambpell told him one of the challenges is that too many people are afraid of change. Lippert says governance issues have come up recently over transit, water and fire dispatch."(Vernon Blog)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Another Wayne, another Wayne's WORD. Where have I heard those words before? You guessed it: another Wayne used to bring it up at regular intervals when his political agenda differed from that of other local politicians.
My comments are as follows:
Gordon Campbell also told all of us that the HST was not on the radar prior to the last election.
Each elected local government has a duty to look after their electors interest. Should they not do so they would be guilty of dereliction of duty.
With respect to Fire dispatch it was the City which pulled out from the service.
With respect to water it was the City which wished to partially pull out of the water agreement.
As far as I understand, the transit service has not been settled yet.
Perhaps SUN FM should occasionally consult with the other local governments as well for their side of the stories. But then again, that would be fair and who wants fairness in reporting?
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2 comments:
Where is the data to support the claim that "more residents and businesses" want amalgamation?
A strong majority of us in Coldstream voted for the preservation of this valley.
As a long-time homeowner in Coldtream I feel incredibly disrepected when comments like "sillyness" are tossed out.
Sillyness indeed. There is likely NO DATA to support this claim.
There is, however, data to support the claim that rural residents are NOT IN FAVOUR of amalgamation.
Residents of electoral areas B,C, D E and F, including the Mayor of Vernon (as a resident of an electoral area), were questioned in late 2008 and voiced their opinions very clearly:
"Do you want to change the way your Electoral Area is governed, either by joining an existing Municipality or becoming a separate Municipality?"
80% responded NO.
Click here for Survey Results (PDF)
Considering the City of Vernon's abysmal record on spending, hiring, etc. why should any rural resident want this particular local government to take them over?
As for City residents, a strong majority of us in Vernon do not wish to pay even higher taxes, just so we can service more outlying areas than we do already.
Talk about feeling disrespected...
Regardless of the Mayor's interests, there is no historical evidence that suggests amalgamation presents any cost-savings, and worse, there is no indication that amalgamation would be any better... for anybody.
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