Vernon councillor shuns appointments

By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star - November 21, 2007

Just a week after he was bounced from the Greater Vernon Services Committee, Coun. Barry Beardsell has opted not to perform duties dictated by the mayor. Beardsell will not accept appointment to the city’s finance or audit committees after Mayor Wayne Lippert removed him from GVSC, a board he has sat on since 2001. “This is not sour grapes no matter how you perceive it,” said Beardsell. Beardsell claims he was approached briefly by Lippert about 2008 appointments and the discussion only dealt with GVSC and not any other committees. “He’s never consulted with me. Is that how you deal with people?” Beardsell added that he had no choice but to refuse the finance and audit committee appointments. “You won’t just put me on there without discussing it.” Beardsell believes he could continue to contribute to GVSC because of his involvement in critical issues, including the establishment of the organization.

He has little confidence in the finance committee. “It didn’t achieve anything before. For two of the three-year term, we have gone without the mayor seeing a need for me to sit there,” said Beardsell. Pointing to financial decisions and the civic complex issue, Beardsell claims there is no direction at city hall. “The apparent lack of leadership has left the City of Vernon with many problems,” he said. While unhappy, Beardsell refuses to resign from council. “I was elected by the people and I will do the best for the taxpayers during my term,” he said. Beardsell would not speculate on whether he will seek re-election in November 2008.

Lippert says he has not been notified of Beardsell’s decision not to sit on the finance committee. He also defends the appointment process he followed. “I sat down with councillors and asked about their wish list. He didn’t ask for finance but he sat on it before and he likes numbers, so I thought he’d like it,” said Lippert. Lippert says Beardsell sat on GVSC for years and it was time for other councillors to learn about the function. “They all want opportunities to be in those different positions,” he said, adding that Beardsell will still be part of reviews of regional district functions. In terms of Beardsell’s claims that the city lacks leadership, Lippert disagrees. “If he’s not happy, he can say that, But that will be up to the public to decide at the next election,” said Lippert.

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Going head to head By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star - Nov 21, 2007

There’s never been much love between Vernon Mayor Wayne Lippert and Coun. Barry Beardsell. It all started in December 2005 when Lippert — fresh from his election win — revealed his first committee appointments. The most prominent move was tossing Beardsell from the finance committee.It probably made sense from Lippert’s standpoint as he was trying to distance himself from all of the perceived wrongs of the previous administration. And Beardsell — of the returning councillors — was the one the public most closely associated with those financial policies (even though he was the one who questioned the former mayor’s expense account). But other than for purely political reasons, Beardsell’s removal from the finance committee didn’t make sense. As a chartered accountant, Beardsell understands numbers inside and out, and has expertise that other council members can’t provide.

Since then, Lippert and Beardsell have sparred over a variety of issues, often because Beardsell is like a dog on a bone and won’t let go of some matters. But the relationship deteriorated further last week when Lippert’s 2008 appointments saw Beardsell kicked off the Greater Vernon Services Committee. It’s a position Beardsell had firmly held since GVSC was formed in 2001 and prior to that, he sat on the former parks board. I’m not sure if that had led to a sense of entitlement, but Beardsell clearly wasn’t happy to be gone.“It’s like a slap in the face,” he said.

At the time, Lippert defended his decision, saying it was time to shuffle the deck. And that truly makes sense as all council members should be familiar with the inner workings of city hall and associated jurisdictions such as GVSC. In the case of Patrick Nicol, he graciously accepted his removal from the regional district, and Beardsell should have done the same. But I think the issue has less to do with the actual decision, and more with a breakdown in communications.

Beardsell says he had a brief discussion with Lippert about 2008 appointments and his only preference was to remain on GVSC. No other committees were discussed. That interpretation of events is also confirmed by Lippert. “He didn’t ask for finance but he sat on it before and he likes numbers, so I thought he’d like it,” said Lippert. Knowing that Beardsell had his heart set on GVSC and anything else would likely be a disappointment, why didn’t Lippert sit down with Beardsell again and give him a heads-up about the decision that had been made? Beardsell still wouldn’t have been pleased, but at least Lippert could claim he had consulted thoroughly with Beardsell.Instead of going the extra mile, Lippert allowed the rift to deepen further — encouraging the common public perception of Beardsell as a lone wolf against the rest of council.

But that aside, Beardsell is handling the situation wrong. While upset with his new committee duties, Beardsell should have held his head up high and said he would tackle them with the same diligence he did at GVSC. In fact, one of them is finance — a committee that can benefit from Beardsell’s knowledge and willingness to ask questions, even if they make bureaucrats uncomfortable. Instead, Beardsell has refused to accept appointment to the finance and audit committees. He insists it’s not sour grapes, but such a move will certainly come across that way.In the end, the dysfunctional relationship between Lippert and Beardsell may make for great headlines but it’s not serving the public any.