I am writing this letter to question the Regional District of North Okanagan board and Vernon city council on some of the decisions they have made.
To start with, the RDNO’s latest is the rail trail bike situation, why was this not discovered and resolved before anyone used it.
A simple questionnaire (not one where they questions are tailored to a certain answer) and then make all the ideas public.
Then there is the Cultural Centre – to start with we were never given all the true costs including operating and this quote from their web page before I questioned it: “If the remaining funds can not be raised within several years, the project will not proceed and the borrowing approved through referendum will not take place.”
Now they pushed through on the loan without firstly letting the taxpayers know all the details by a mail box drop. Then the voting. I found this out by accident.
Now for the mayor and council this is long but let’s say they too failed on truth or transparency for the Cultural Centre especially the parking loss.
Then on to the new park downtown, the new recreation centre (changed several times) and now the budget. Let us not forget the new garbage system (somebody should sbe help accountable) and the Peanut Pool (did not listen to those who use it). The city has had several town hall meetings surveys and questionnaires (they only hear what they want). But here is my problem – they do all this but they never give us an accounting of anything but the good things people say and relate why people find disagreement with them (they are not always right). It would be nice if all levels of government would give us all the remarks and let us make up our own minds instead of having our elected representatives, and I use this term lightly, to make unilateral decisions on how to spend the taxpayers monies that will put us into long-term debt without letting us have fair due process on this.
I am also holding the newspapers to account on this as it seems they only report on the nice things that happen at city hall and other places, and do not report on what is happening at city hall. Maybe they should take what many of us say in our letters to the editor and investigate. I for one do not want to lose the printed media and they play a pivotal role in our society.
Garry Haas
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