By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: October 14, 2008
The City of Vernon’s strong stance on some issues may be hurting its chances of getting provincial funding. Some council members confirmed Tuesday that they were told recently by provincial officials that grants for various projects weren’t forthcoming because of motions coming from the city and comments made by some politicians. “It was expressed to me by more than one politician that this city has lost out on grant money because of comments made by the city,” said Coun. Buffy Baumbrough of her time at the Union of B.C. Municipalities conference. “They said they won’t go out of their way to work with a community if these kinds of comments are made.” Mayor Wayne Lippert said that the perception in Victoria is that the city is always in the media and being negative towards the province. “We were told that we can attract more with honey than with salt,” said Lippert.“We have a reputation in the media of attacking other levels of government. We have a reputation of being difficult to get along with.”
It’s believed that some of the government’s concern may be related to Coun. Barry Beardsell, who has been extremely vocal on a variety of issues such as slot machines. Beardsell was not pleased that some officials may be linking his statements to the city receiving funding grants. “I view this as very serious and I’d like to take personal action against that government individual,” he said. “If every member of council has to lick the boots of government officials, it’s a sad day for democracy.”
