Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: November 26, 2009 6:00 PM
The City of Vernon isn’t convinced a provincial agency needs to leave town. Council wants to know if B.C. Assessment has a business case study to justify its decision to close the local office by Dec. 31, 2010. It also wants Community Development Minister Bill Bennett to review the closure. “I don’t see any reason why they should be consolidated (into Kelowna),” said Coun. Bob Spiers. “We’re losing 13 good-paying jobs and there’s no reason for it.”
Council’s decision came after a presentation from CUPE 1767, the union representing assessment employees. “The same level of service will not be maintained,” said president Kevin McPhail. While the agency claims clients prefer to use the telephone when making inquiries, McPhail says 260 people showed up at the front counter last year. “Difficult inquiries require face-to-face contact.” By consolidating the Vernon and Penticton operations in Kelowna, B.C. Assessment expects to save $441,000 annually. “We’re not sure where that will come from. Lease rates are higher in Kelowna than Vernon,” said McPhail. “We have put in Freedom of Information requests and have heard nothing back. It should be a transparent process. We should see where the savings are coming from.”
McPhail says the 13 local staff will likely move to Kelowna, creating a negative impact for Vernon. “These employees are actively involved in the community,” he said. City staff use the local office to access assessment information, and B.C. Assessment representatives must be familiar with building activity in Vernon. “The travel time (from Kelowna) to inspect places for building permits will eat into the savings,” said Spiers.
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