Fun and games at NORD

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By Richard RolkeJul 05 2006 http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/
City of Vernon representatives could have some explaining to do today when they sit down at the North Okanagan Regional District board table. A number of directors are absolutely dumb-founded about city council’s decision last week to not support changes to the Greater Vernon Services Commission bylaw. The changes were hammered out at the June 6 NORD meeting and compromises were found to resolve the outstanding governance dispute and make the package appealing to the largest jurisdiction — namely Vernon. What particularly has many NORD directors upset is that the city’s three regional district representatives raised their hands June 6 in support of the deal, but when it came to the June 26 meeting, the same trio raised their hands to not accept the changes. As a result of that, Mayor Wayne Lippert and Councillors Pat Cochrane and Patrick Nicol will likely be in the line of fire today. From where I sit, there appears to be no valid reason for the city to put up roadblocks when all other jurisdictions have embraced the amendments to the bylaw that governs GVSC. The original document insisted that anyone sitting on the GVSC board would also have to be a NORD director. That would have stripped Vernon of its ability to appoint who it wants to a committee that oversees water, parks and recreation, and economic development. Vernon’s concerns were completely understandable, and the rest of NORD realized that would be undue interference. As a result, the clause relating to GVSC membership was yanked. The only reason given for Vernon not accepting the amended GVSC bylaw is that the wording of section seven is not clear. There are a number of things that GVSC — as a function of NORD — can’t do. They include financial management policies, contracting policies, purchasing policies, obtain legal advice, administer legal claims, form human resource or risk management policies or establish communication or computer system policies. I’m not a politician, but I’ve read the section several times and it seems crystal clear to me. With that in mind, the only explanation for the city’s actions appears to be that some council members are still tied to GVSC being its own free-standing agency and they don’t want the regional district involved in any way. Opposing the bylaw change is the last attempt at trying to throw the process off course. We should also keep in mind that the only one to comment June 26 about the matter was Coun. Barry Beardsell, long an opponent of NORD’s role in Greater Vernon. Not a word was said by the city’s three regional district representatives. As a result of the city’s actions, today’s NORD meeting could be interesting. And with the rest of the member jurisdictions onboard behind the bylaw changes, the City of Vernon will find itself out-numbered. Ultimately, the city will have to decide if it truly becomes part of the solution to resolving the governance dispute or if it keeps tilting at windmills.