WALSH – Has fiscal responsibility gone out of style at the City council table?

IF YOU OWNED a piece of land you weren’t using, would you sell it at a 75 per cent discount so your neighbour could add it to their property, then subdivide for profit?

Our City councillors apparently would. At a closed meeting held August 17, City administration recommended that council sell a 3,390 sq. ft. piece of decommissioned Brocklehurst laneway for $11.06 /sq. ft.

When informed that BC Assessment valued adjacent properties at over $40/sq. ft., council ignored the potential loss of $50,000-$100,000 to taxpayers. Without any discussion or reconsideration, council approved this discounted sale, a choice that assisted a developer instead of getting fair market value for taxpayers.

How can this low selling price possibly accord with the City overspending on property on the Tranquille corridor, investing $6 million for an empty 30,000 sq. ft. lot?  Is there a City policy to buy high and sell low?

We poor taxpayers. Has fiscal responsibility gone out of style?

Apparently, some members of council didn’t fully understand the implications to homeowners when they rubber-stamped a massive water rate hike at their Oct. 31 meeting: 25 per cent in 2024, followed by additional 15%-5%-5%-5% scheduled increases for 2025-2028.

This sudden need for a shocking 55 per cent hike is puzzling, since the City’s financial plan for 2021-2025 projected a surplus water fund balance of $9.5 million by 2025. Now City managers are saying there’s a significant shortfall. What happened?

Even worse, on Nov.  7 City administration presented council with temporary Noble Creek irrigation water supply recommendations that would add 2%-4% to the already stunning 25 per cent increase in 2024 City water rates.

This Noble Creek report prompted a rare council vote to rescind the recent 2024 water rate increase and direct administration to present options to lessen the pain to taxpayers next year. They are clear that they will still somehow need the full 25 per cent budget increase, though, so there’s not much wiggle room.

Our sanitary sewer rates will also be going up 22.5 per cent over the next five years and City Hall still hasn’t a clue what the property tax increase will be for 2024.

Sadly, dubious public money management isn’t just limited to City Hall. Between BC Housing and the City of Kamloops we taxpayers have spent $23.5 million buying three local affordable housing complexes since 2021: Cherry Ave ($12.8 million), Fortune Motel ($3.6 million) and the Village/Northbridge Hotel ($7.1 million).

So far, after renovictions and demovictions, this $23.5 million investment only houses a grand total of 20 people after two years. It’s a mess. Definitely not a success.

It appears council could use some practical advice but doesn’t seem to really want to hear from voters. Council just eliminated public comment on some of its decisions by allowing votes at meetings of the Committee of the Whole. Formerly non-voting, these meetings didn’t need to provide an opportunity for public inquiries. Now they allow voting, but don’t allow public input.

For at least the next year, there is potential for issues City Hall considers controversial to be introduced under the Committee of the Whole, giving the public no opportunity to voice concerns or add information regarding final decisions on any contentious proposals or administrative reports.

A former council already limited public queries to only items on the agenda. This year, council limited public participation at council meetings and public hearings to five minutes per person because, they said, council meetings are unduly extended because of overlong public comments. Why blame the public?

The councillors bring it on themselves. They go on and on at council meetings, each often commenting on every delegation and issue, even repeating what someone else just said. They spend valuable meeting time patting each other and administration on the back. Maybe Council could convene a committee to look into giving itself speaking limits.

Council also allows administration to schedule closed and public council meetings, committees of the whole and public hearings all on the same day. Why not hold some on other days, which is what Kelowna and other cities do in order to prevent cerebral burnout and keep councillors fresh, sharp and engaged?

Or maybe councillors could just welcome public input and accept a long day from time to time. Really, it isn’t so bad getting an annual salary of $58,000 for working maybe 100 days a year ($43,000 for each councillor plus $15,000 for the seven that also sit on the TNRD board), with lots of travel and free meals on top.

Is the public the enemy in our city except when it comes time to pay or vote? Looking at recent disproportionate real estate deals and huge water and sanitation/sewer rate increases it seems that City Hall thinks municipal taxpayers have endlessly deep pockets. It’s also apparent by the various ways public consultation has been curtailed in person and on-line over the past few terms that City Hall sees public input as a nuisance, if not a problem.

In fact, our council and administrators seem to see city taxpayers the way some teenagers view their parents. They assume mom, dad or equivalent will pay for everything. They expect their parents to overlook and forgive irresponsible and self-serving behaviour.

It’s time for City Hall to grow up.

Denis Walsh is a former three-term Kamloops City councillor. He chose not to run again in 2022, convinced that City councillors should step aside after a maximum of three terms to allow others to serve and to experience being on the “outside looking in.”