Governance forces eyes to glaze over, so the North Okanagan Regional District may be doing residents a favour by keeping the doors to a workshop closed this week.But the tedious, boring nature of the subject is not the point. The point is that ongoing disputes over Greater Vernon services impact all residents who contribute taxes towards them. They have a right to hear their politicians debate the matter first-hand.Coming to the public’s defense is the City of Vernon, which unsuccessfully fought to have the session open.“There isn’t anything that needs to be kept in-camera but NORD has decided otherwise,” said Mayor Wayne Lippert. And Lippert is right when you consider the functions at the heart of the dispute, primarily between city council and the electoral area directors.
They are water distribution, economic development and parks and recreation, and they have been the focus of several public meetings and media reports. There are no secrets left.But that argument doesn’t wash with NORD.“There are issues that are contractual and they need to be addressed among the stakeholders,” said Jerry Oglow, board chairman. Sure there may be some legal and staff issues involved and those have to be discussed in private. But you can’t convince me that the whole workshop hinges on that scenario. If legal and labour are on the table, then close the doors at the end of the meeting and deal with them. But the rest of the session should be open to anyone wanting to attend.
And there may be some public interest as joint sessions between all of Vernon and Coldstream councils, and the Areas B and C directors, happen rarely. If the operation of parks and recreation is to evolve — as suggested by directors Stan Field and Cliff Kanester publicly — let citizens become familiar with the plan. If Vernon wants to take over its own water distribution — taking duties away from the Greater Vernon Services Committee — let residents have that information, especially after their money has been spent to set up the existing bureaucracy.
With people increasingly skeptical of politicians, closed-door meetings just reinforce the perception that they aren’t in control of the democratic process.
Lippert has his own theory as to why the workshop is out-of-bounds to residents and reporters.“They are afraid of people (politicians) either grandstanding or not participating because they are there,” he said. My experience is elected officials who have something to say will do so whether the media is there or not. Those who don’t speak out, generally spend most of their time sitting on their hands. As for grandstanding, isn’t that just par for the course when it comes to politics? Why worry about it now? Of course it should be pointed out that it’s the City of Vernon leading the fight for transparency and openness — the same council that has stretched the number of in-camera meetings to the limits.Ultimately, city officials deserve praise for trying to set NORD on a certain path, but before doing so, they should get their own house in order.
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