Battle lines drawn over budget

Published: March 26, 2009 6:00 PM Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star

Vernon’s mayor is lashing out at a citizens’ group questioning city hall’s budget process. The Vernon Taxpayers Association claims there has been excessive spending in the proposed 2009 budget and financial figures are misleading. “I find it very interesting that a group concerned about openness and transparency never turned out for any of the budget sessions. We provided the public with an opportunity for input” said Mayor Wayne Lippert. “This council has gone beyond any other council to make its citizens aware of the budget and to allow them to provide input.” The 2009 budget calls for a 1.99 per cent tax increase for the average home, but the association claims that doesn’t take into account a hike in firefighting costs, particularly in Okanagan Landing, and higher operating expenses. “Critical expenditures have been excluded from general expenses and will be taken out of reserve funds so the budget does not appear as excessive as it really is,” states the association in a release.

There is also a concern about 11 new employees being hired at a cost of about $700,000. “They are hiring people like crazy. The hirings that have increased are something else,” said Barry Beardsell, a former councillor speaking for the association. “With the economic times we are in, this is totally frightening.” However, Lippert defends the hiring of staff, saying that the public wanted more open hours at the RCMP detachment and that requires receptionists. He also says that the tourism and economic development managers are a result of the regional district abandoning those services. “We can gain revenue back from other jurisdictions (through a contract for service),” he said. “For everything we have in there and the capital works, it’s a good budget.” Beardsell says he and the association didn’t attend any of council’s budget discussions because there was nothing final about the document. “It’s only at this point that a hard copy of the budget has been made available to the public,” he said. The association is encouraging residents to attend a public input session at city hall Monday at 5:30 p.m. “Now is the time for input,” said Beardsell.