Review may lead to CORD’s expansion

Jason Luciw - Kelowna Capital News Published: June 16, 2009

What started as a paring down exercise may actually lead to the Central Okanagan Regional District dipping its fingers into even more pies. Regional district chairman Robert Hobson said municipal directors held the last of two strategic planning workshops Monday evening to try to find efficiencies in costly operations like parks, dog control and planning. What became clear during the process was that the regional district should take more of a lead on broad, over-arching issues and deal less with day-to-day services, said Hobson. “It is appropriate to say that we’re moving away from the traditional role of direct service delivery to (focus on) a greater vision of sustainability for the region,” commented Hobson. The regional district should play a larger role in valley-wide transportation planning, water and air quality protection, climate change initiatives, Crown land uses and First Nation treaty negotiations, he said.

West Kelowna Coun. Duane Ophus agreed in principal with the proposed direction, provided costs are kept in check. “We are very concerned about the finances because there was a significant (tax) increase this year and there will be again next year,” said Ophus. “We are certainly looking for efficiencies if we agree to get into different things.” There are three day-to-day services which the regional district appears unable to shake as it branches into other area, however. Those are parks, planning and dog control, according to Hobson. However, he’s confident operational efficiencies can be found.

For example, some directors suggest municipalities maintain the regional parks within their boundaries to save on costs since cities and districts already have staff and equipment to care for nearby local parks. And, contractors and not local government employees are already helping to maintain some regional parks, according to Hobson. Dog control may be a trickier issue to deal with, noted Hobson. “Dog owners are not paying the full cost of controlling their dogs.” However, the regional board can’t simply increase licensing fees to recover costs because it decreases the number of license renewals, explained Hobson, calling it “a delicate balance.” Regional dog control includes dealing with vicious breeds, patrolling parks and operating the local pound. “All that costs considerable money,” Hobson noted. Unfortunately, the last time dog control was contracted out the situation didn’t work out well for the regional district, Hobson stated.

With planning, the debate revolves around how much municipalities should be paying to manage regional growth and to participate in fringe area development. Fringe areas are unincorporated neighbourhoods near municipal boundaries. Planning for rural areas will continue to be a day-to-day function of the regional district paid for by rural taxpayers. The regional board hired consultants Peter Adams and Allan Neilson-Welch to walk directors through the strategic review. A final report will go to the board either June 22 or July 9, according to administrator Harold Reay.