By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star
Published: September 08, 2013 1:00 AM
There’s pressure to place Greater Vernon’s future in the hands of residents.
Until October 31, a petition will be circulated
asking local and provincial authorities to develop a plan to combine
Vernon, Coldstream and Areas B and C into a single entity to provide a
more efficient use of taxes.
“We want the citizens of Greater Vernon to say if
we are one community or not,” said Bruce Shepherd, president of the
Society for the Future Governance of Greater Vernon.
The goal is to have a referendum on the ballot in each jurisdiction during the 2014 civic elections in regards to governance.
“If they (voters) say no, at least they said it,”
said Peter Moore, society director, adding that those opposed to
amalgamation should be interested in a referendum proceeding.
“It would be wise for them to ask to have the question on the ballot so they can vote no once and for all.”
The society was first formed in 2005 with a
primary focus on the entire North Okanagan, but nothing materialized and
efforts ceased. However, earlier this year, a group of eight to 10
people from all four Greater Vernon jurisdictions decided to resurrect
the group and narrow the scope to just Greater Vernon.
“Our members are concerned about the duplication
of services and inefficiencies,” said Moore of two municipal councils
and two electoral area directors as well as parallel bureaucracies for
58,000 people.
As an example, the society points to water and
parks, recreation and culture being handled by the Greater Vernon
Advisory Committee but any decisions must then go before the Regional
District of North Okanagan board. In some cases, processes must also be
ratified by Vernon and Coldstream councils.
“There’s too much time spent going from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and committee to committee,” said Shepherd.
“The speed of decision-making has slowed down and the infighting has increased,” added Moore.
Moore says that Coldstream’s population grew 10
per cent between 2000 and 2010 but per capita spending, adjusted for
inflation, climbed 32 per cent, while in Vernon, the population
increased 13 per cent and spending per capita went up 53 per cent.
“Spending is far outstripping the ability to pay
so where will the dollars come from? Either taxpayers dig ever deeper or
services will be cut. To avoid this, we must find cost savings in how
we operate municipal government.”
As part of a recent city core review, consultant
KPMG indicated amalgamation would generate efficiencies and reduce
costs. Vernon council decided not to take action on that recommendation.
There have been previous attempts to move towards
amalgamation but Moore is confident this new process will move ahead
positively.
“We are getting a sense that there’s a silent majority of residents that want the issue addressed,” he said.
The society is not indicating if it has a target for how many signatures it would like on the petition by Oct. 31.
“The provincial government has no magical number
either but it needs to be a significant number of residents to call for
the question,” said Shepherd.
Before launching the campaign, the society
consulted with provincial government representatives, including
Vernon-Monashee MLA Eric Foster.
“They asked about the process and how the
province would move forward if they get the numbers on the petition they
believe they will get,” said Foster.
“We (government) do not force amalgamation on
anyone. I am pleased someone is going on a fact-finder but we do not
take sides and we are not initiating the process.”
While the society favours amalgamation, Shepherd insists the priority of the campaign is to simply explore options.
“It might be amalgamation or it might not, which
is why it’s important for citizens on both sides of the issue to sign
the petition and get the question on the table for formal discussion
with facts,” he said.
“Local and provincial politicians won’t take the
initiative to find cost and efficiency savings in governance unless
taxpayers demand it.”
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How many "Anonymous" Greater Vernon Citizen can vote and how often? So far I counted 21. A petition usually has a bit stricter rules, among them that one "citizen" can only vote once. Even Mr Moore voted twice, an oversight I hope. I have nothing against a petition but it should have rules that no one person can stuff the ballot box.
For those interested in amalgamation consequences here is an interesting link: How Rob Ford's Meltdown Could Save Toronto.
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VERNON – More than 3.5 years ago, a well in Lavington was contaminated resulting in a strict water ban.
