Media Release re Library/Civic building Ominous as written

Library/Civic Building - Leadership in Energy & Environmental Desing (sic)
http://www.vernon.ca/news/index.html#library_civic

Don Quixote Rant:
The posting of this media release on Friday is worth reading. Some of the wording and options suggested bear close scrutiny when they are examined closely.

• 'City has committed to constructing a library/civic building on the civic complex site.' - If this is indeed true and the City is committed to building on this site etc. then what good is there to have an alternate approval opportunity. (counter petition for you old city hall fans).
• 'The City has a number of options to raise funds to construct the building ' - The city then goes on to say that 'Council has decided to borrow the funds.'- (they suggest the taxpayers can stop this with an alternate approval opportunity" They then go on to say Based on borrowing over 25 years, financing the construction of the new building, less lease revenue, will cost the average home owner $38 per year. Alternatively, short term financing of the project would cost $160 per average household over 4 years. This suggests that if the alternate process petition is successful and the Council isn't permitted to proceed with long term borrowing, they will not then go to referendum but merely try to resort to short term borrowing which doesn't require taxpayers consent ! (In other words: If you taxpayers counter petition us out of this method we will finance our dream through short term borrowing over 4 years and you can't counter-petition against that. (Looks like the so called water referendum )

This press release suggests that this building is going ahead regardless and the taxpayers are being offered a chance to only decide whether we will pay this over 25 years with long term borrowing or 4 years with short term borrowing.

If the City representatives present this argument at their 3 Open Houses that I hope they can explain how they plan to use short term financing which under the Provincial government legislation says:

'Short-term capital borrowing may be used to acquire assets or to finance capital projects that are typically modest in scale. Debts incurred under this authority must be repaid within five years from the date of issue, if not sooner.' 'The maximum amounts allowed through short-term capital borrowing($50/capita)' Gov. B.C.

The media release goes on to state that at these open houses the city will 'provide information on the preliminary design, cost and borrowing bylaw approval process.' With regards to this process and since the release used Kelowna as an example of a city that used the alternate approval option I provide the following link to all the details that Kelowna offered when this method was used. (excerpt below)http://www.city.kelowna.bc.ca/CM/Page1212.aspx

Once the AAP starts, the forms are available from the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall (for pick up or they can be faxed, mailed, or e-mailed to an elector). In some cases, they are also made available at other public facilities such as recreation centres, public libraries and the like, as well as available for downloading from the City’s website. The completed forms must be delivered to the City Clerk’s Office by the deadline in order to be counted. Usually there is room for five or six electors to sign one form, or each elector may sign his or her own form. Accurate copies of the Council approved forms are also acceptable, so long as they are not altered (in other words, someone may obtain one form and photocopy it if needed).

(Originally Posted June 16)