OPEN LETTER TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL
Mayor and Councillors:
The January 12/15 Committee of the Whole meeting will be the first
opportunity given this council to demonstrate that they will no longer be making
decisions without having had sufficient time for their own due diligence.
This COW meeting agenda is asking council to pass a $12,792,000.00 early
budget approval request which includes over $4,000,000.00 in spending that is
not included in the 2014 – 2018 Financial Plan which the previous council spent
over 80 gruelling hours approving last year.
Add to that, council is being asked to approve a Port Theatre funding (also
not in the financial plan) option, something the Mayor said should go to
referendum during his election campaign.
Finally, there is a $70,000 ask for an expense which arguably should be the
responsibility of the Provincial government to shoulder and not the city of
Nanaimo.
Yes, this will be the first test to see if our new city council will
conduct the business of Nanaimo taxpayer’s any differently than the previous
council.
Being fiscally responsible? Holding the line on taxes? Demanding sufficient
time and information from city staff, upon which to make good decisions?
Only time will tell.
From what I'm seeing after a short 6 weeks on the job, the new Nanaimo council is turning into the old. Spend $$$ Spend $$$ WITHOUT pulling back the purse strings. Today's COW agenda, theatre expansion shore-up and $70,000 for more addiction treatment at the Tillicum Leland Aboriginal Friendship Centre which should come from province (which looks after health) or Feds (which looks after aboriginal affairs). This is NOT a city responsibility. Watching how each councillor votes.
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