All politicians achieve office by virtue of the will of those who cast of the majority of votes. Once elected they serve the interests of those who voted for them, those who did not, those who chose not to vote, and those interests which have no vote.
As the custodian of 20 per cent of the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) land in Greater Victoria, the transportation hub for this community of 400,000 and the location of half the manufacturing capacity, much of what happens in North Saanich Municipal Hall impacts all residents of Greater Victoria,
Current members of the North Saanich council seem unable or unwilling to move past the first of the three cohorts listed above, while happily passing costs of their decisions onto all four.
Working in what seems to be the interests only of their voters has so far cost the residents of North Saanich $400,000 for a nearly complete draft official community plan (OCP), $300,000 in severance (for someone “who decided to leave his employment with the District of North Saanich to peruse opportunities”), the cost of a byelection next month, and a probable top-up of the budget to complete the OCP process.
All taxpayers, indeed all residents and businesses in North Saanich are entitled to a full accounting of these costs and benefits to everyone adhering to the stated wishes of a majority of the voters representing a fraction of the residents and none of the businesses employing thousands of workers from across the region (providing 40 per cent of property tax revenue).
Maybe it is time for a governance review of this municipality or just a conversation with Victoria council currently implementing recommendations of their governance review conducted by Meyers Norris Penny LLP.
John Treleaven, chair
Grumpy Taxpayer$ of Greater Victoria
