Valley-wide governance input sessions on tap

By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star - February 20, 2008

North Okanagan residents will have a chance to hear more about proposed changes to valley-wide governance. Allan Neilson-Welch, a consultant involved with the Okanagan governance task force, will make presentations to all six local municipal councils and the North Okanagan Regional District this week. “The meetings are open to the public and I encourage people to attend,” said Jerry Oglow, Armstrong mayor and task force member. “The councils will get a brief summary of the work done to date by the task force and Allan will listen to input from every council on what valley-wide governance changes could look like.”Today, Neilson-Welch will be at Enderby city hall at 5 p.m. and at the Spallumcheen municipal office at 7 p.m.

He will meet with the five electoral area directors at the NORD office Thursday at 1 p.m., followed by stops at the Coldstream municipal office at 5 p.m. and the Lumby village office at 7 p.m.On Friday, there will be presentations at Vernon city hall at 10 a.m. and Armstrong city hall at 1 p.m. While the main purpose of the meetings will be for politicians to provide feedback, residents will also get involved during some of the sessions. “In Armstrong, we will give the public an opportunity to provide their thoughts,” said Oglow, adding that he isn’t sure how other councils will handle public participation. Neilson-Welch has also met with councils in the Central Okanagan Regional District and the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen as part of the task force’s efforts. “We will collate all of the information he has received,” said Oglow.The task force was formed by Community Services Minister Ida Chong.The governance options being considered are one single regional district; a voluntary inter-regional alliance, a mandatory inter-regional authority and maintaining the existing three regional districts in the Okanagan. The task force must submit a final report to Chong by the end of March.

-----------------

Morning Star Editorial Feb 20 Public must be involved

There’s even more indication that any change in Okanagan governance will likely be imposed and not truly reflect the wishes of residents. The provincially mandated committee reviewing potential governance options for the entire valley is meeting with all North Okanagan councils this week. And while much has been made of these meetings being open to the public, that is just smoke and mirrors. For the most part, these meetings will be dominated by a conversation between council members and a consultant involved in the process. There will be no opportunity for residents to ask questions or provide their thoughts. All they can do is just sit and watch. The exception apparently will be Armstrong, where council has decided to provide residents with a chance to have their day. Unfortunately, other councils didn’t see fit to do that, only adding further alienation between citizens and the governance review. But the onus for the lack of public consultation clearly rests with the governance committee and eventually with the provincial government. Beyond just listening to politicians talk to each other, the only other outlet for residents is to provide comments on the committee’s Web site. And that outlet doesn’t work if you don’t have access to the Internet, and it hardly encourages face-to-face discussions between residents and their elected representatives. At the end of the day, any governance changes in the Okanagan will impact residents, both in the pocketbook and how they access an array of services. For them to be left in the dark is completely unacceptable.