City seeks legal advice over GVSC

By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: August 12, 2008

The North Okanagan Regional District is accused of improperly scrapping the Greater Vernon Services Committee. Vernon council voted Monday to consult with its lawyer over NORD repealing governance activities for GVSC. It also wants a meeting with Community Services Minister Blair Lekstrom to discuss the matter. “I find what happened absolutely atrocious,” said Coun. Barry Beardsell. “NORD and particularly (chairman Jerry) Oglow and (administrator Brian) Reardon won’t dictate what happens to the City of Vernon.” All 13 members of the regional district board voted on repealing GVSC’s governance authority last week. Vernon’s three representatives and Coldstream’s director were opposed. But the city insists that it should have only been a stakeholders’ vote among Vernon, Coldstream and Areas B and C. It claims that with two-thirds of the partners opposed, any move to scrap GVSC should have been defeated.

“We are being treated like the little orphan that nobody listens to,” said Beardsell. “What they did is not correct. We need to challenge them every step of the way.” But regional district officials defend their handling of GVSC. “Any repeal of a bylaw is a corporate vote (all directors) and it was contingent on receiving the consent of two-thirds of the stakeholders,” said Reardon. NORD had separately approached the jurisdictions of Vernon, Coldstream, Area B and Area C, and only the city wouldn’t support the GVSC repeal bylaw moving ahead. Reardon added that the process followed by NORD was supported by the district’s lawyer. “We are confident that the procedures followed by the regional district are correct.” NORD’s plan is to replace GVSC with an advisory committee on parks and recreation, economic development and water.

Everything would have to be ratified by the regional district board and some city officials are concerned that will lead to politicians from outside Greater Vernon voting on these issues. However, chairman Jerry Oglow denies NORD will dictate how Greater Vernon activities are handled and it will largely be Vernon, Coldstream and Areas B and C voting on them because they fund the three functions. “The vast majority will be stakeholder issues,” he said. He added that stakeholder votes were also common under the former governance structure, except for annual budgets which are a corporate vote and involve the entire board. “Nothing changes from the old system to the new system.”

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The city must move on Morning Star Editorial

The City of Vernon is like a dog with a bone. It just keeps gnawing every time an issue with the North Okanagan Regional District comes up. This time around council is questioning the process NORD followed to repeal governance activities for the Greater Vernon Services Committee. So upset by what happened, the city's elected representatives are talking to their lawyer and demanding a meeting with a provincial cabinet minister. But the reality is that GVSC as we know it is dead, and NORD had the support of a majority of the Greater Vernon jurisdictions to proceed with rescinding of the governance bylaw. Even Mayor Wayne Lippert has suggested in the past that it was an appropriate move. It should also be noted that scrapping of the governance structure will not impact public services. There will still be parks and recreation, economic development and water. All that has changed is how they are administered, and Vernon will still be a player as it sits at the NORD table.

Some city officials are worried that politicians in Lumby or Enderby will dictate how Greater Vernon issues take place, but that is unlikely. There is already a process where the stakeholders that actually pay the bill vote on most matters, and that won't change. And when you consider that the city has three out of the six stakeholder votes in Greater Vernon, there should be nothing to worry about. All the city's antics do is further the rift between it and its neighbouring partners, and frustrate the general public who are tired of political turf wars. It is time for the City of Vernon to drop the bone, and get back to business.