Western communities take top honours in the sweetest awards issued by the crankiest of groups in Greater Victoria.
The Grumpy Taxpayer$ tradition of handing out candy cane awards continues with the addition of a bonus lump of coal for 2024.
In a nod to its thrifty nature, the organization proudly purchased the boxes of Canadian-made peppermint candy canes in January at a deeply-discounted 80 per cent off.
The top prize goes to Colwood council for recognizing a critical health need in the community and starting up a medical clinic. City of Colwood will lease and manage the Colwood Medical Clinic with a goal of recruiting and employing eight doctors to service as many as 10,000 residents.
“Council stepped into a void left when the province failed to deliver on its responsibilities and is set to open a medical clinic in 2025,” chair John Treleaven said. “The well-being of their residents is one of their top priorities, and in our view, defensible even though it's normally outside their role as a municipality.”
Langford finished second for updating its council travel expense policy that dated back to 2006. By adopting a revised expense policy that’s fairer and tied to inflation, it’s removed what the Grumpy Taxpayer$ said was an unnecessary sore spot with taxpayers.
“Residents get very testy about any abuse or perceived abuse of expense accounts,” Treleaven said, adding the hope is it prompts a review of other dated Langford policies.
Third place honours go to the newly minted NDP MLA Dana Lajeunesse for resigning his seat on Sooke council.
“When elected to the legislature most – but not all politicians – resign immediately from local government (or school boards),” said Stan Bartlett, vice-chair of Grumpy Taxpayer$.
There are no rules for double dipping under B.C.’s Election Act that prohibit politicians from being elected at two places at once or requiring them to resign.
The inaugural Ol' Lump of Coal Award goes to the City of Victoria for council’s roundabout remuneration conversation this summer.
The award specifically omits Victoria Couns. Marg Gardiner and Stephen Hammond who opposed the mid-term pay raise as early as March votes on the subject.
Council voted 5-3 at that time, with Mayor Marianne Alto also opposed, to pursue a raise for councillors pay to 50 per cent of the mayor’s pay.
They currently make 40 per cent.
According to a consultant report, Victoria councillors make about $4,000 less than the 2023 median pay of their counterparts from 11 B.C. cities the report looked at. Alto’s base pay in 2023 was just shy of $128,000, which came in about $14,000 under the median rate for the heads of those 11 cities.
Alto voted in favour of raising councillor pay to half of her position’s rate, but vehemently opposed doing it mid-term.
“It was a move unique in its self-dealing, its complete disregard for community/taxpayer interests, corrupted supporting evidence and potential for longer-term destructive consequences,” Treleaven said. "This governance failure around remuneration will be a key election issue for taxpayers in 2026."
Facing significant backlash, council struck an independent task force, and near the end of summer, supported its recommendation to raise councillor base pay levels to 45 per cent of the mayor's salary following the next municipal election.
