There is another way

By Richard Rolke Jul 04 2007 http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/

At the same time the City of Vernon is defending not going to referendum, it’s interesting to see how another jurisdiction is garnering public opinion to borrow money. Residents of Mabel Lake/Kingfisher will head to the polls this fall to vote on borrowing $160,000 to purchase the old Kingfisher school from the North Okanagan-Shuswap School District. Ever since the school was closed in 2000, the community has wanted it turned over to them. Based on that reality and the fact that only $160,000 is being borrowed, it would have been easy for the North Okanagan Regional District to go the alternate approval route and force anyone opposed to sign a petition (just as Vernon is doing for $20 million for a library/administration office building).

But rural Enderby director Herman Halvorson wouldn’t have any of that. For him, a referendum is an essential part of government. “It’s a fair way of doing it because everyone gets a say,” he said during an interview. “It’s the democratic way to do it.” And Halvorson is willing to live with the outcome. “Give us input, give us hell, I don’t care,” he said. Vernon, of course, will try to distance itself from what’s going on in rural Enderby. One of the arguments tossed out by the City of Vernon is a referendum is far more costly than a counter-petition. And while that is true, I didn’t realize democracy had a price tag. At Mabel Lake, a referendum will cost between $3,000 and $5,000, a substantial sum for a small, largely rural area. Vernon has also stated that a referendum would take too long and time is running short because of commitments to Okanagan Regional Library and the need for government grants.

But there’s also a time crunch at Mabel Lake. The old Kingfisher school has sat vacant since 2000 and the North Okanagan-Shuswap School District is at a point where the building’s fate must be determined. Apparently the referendum has to be held this fall because the school district wants to know if the public is willing to purchase the site. Vernon, of course, will think the library/office complex is of extreme importance, but the school is equally of importance to those people living at Mabel Lake. No matter the number of voters (700 in rural Enderby compared to 27,772 in Vernon) and dollar value, the concept of public approval is the same. should residents have a direct opportunity to vote on a matter that will impact them financially or should they navigate a process that is completely unfamiliar to them? In my mind, the answer is obvious. Any government that claims to be open and accountable should always go cap-in-hand to the public.

But the City of Vernon isn’t the only jurisdiction that has followed this questionable direction. Armstrong recently borrowed $400,000 for a new spillway through the alternate approval process. Obviously, improvements to the water supply are crucial but I suspect it would have still gone ahead if there was a referendum. Vernon often likes to point to Kelowna, which uses alternate approval petitions frequently for big-ticket items. But instead of looking south, perhaps the city should look north to rural Enderby to determine another way of doing business.