Mayor looks to simplify city business

Bruce Walkinshaw - Penticton Western News Published: December 31, 2009 6:00 PM

“Firstly, on behalf of all of council, I want to wish everybody a very healthy, happy and prosperous new year,” said Dan Ashton, bleeding slightly from the crown of his nose. The Penticton mayor was making a point regarding the massive collection of city bylaws, reports and archives housed in a double-layered, floor-to-ceiling vault at City Hall when a particularly menacing-looking thickly bound volume of bylaws tipped off the top shelf striking Ashton square in the face. After a quick assessment of his glasses and his nose, making sure neither were broken, Ashton chuckles at his own ironic misfortune. It is not lost on him that the very bylaws his council has set out to simplify, reduce or, in the odd case, eliminate almost knocked him out. Metaphorically, it is an image that, if you talk to Ashton, many in Penticton would be able to identify with. “There are a lot of very good bylaws in there that should stay there forever, but there also a lot of bylaws that are outdated and past their due-date and they create hurdles for not only council and staff, but for the citizens and the constituents of Penticton who are coming in to City Hall wanting to do things,” says Ashton. “What we are trying to do as a council is to take a look at all the hurdles that people are being made to jump over to do whatever — whether it is building, zoning, going to the pool, walking your dog in the park — and asking, what is in people’s way that doesn’t have to be in their way? “So, you have to take a look at those bylaws and make sure each one is applicable. And if it’s not applicable, then it is either time to change the bylaw or strike it and get a new one put in its place.”

A full year, plus a few months, into his tenure as mayor, Ashton speaks with enthusiasm about the various initiatives his council has lined up for 2010, including renovations to the city’s pool and fitness facilities, the establishment of an Okanagan waterfront enhancement committee, reducing the financial burden of the SOEC on taxpayers, more co-operation between officials and staff from local municipalities and the regional distract and more joint service agreements with the Penticton Indian Band. However, there is a guiding principle he believes his council is mandated to deliver no matter the issue. “The modus operandi of this council is that we must not only reduce and remove a lot of the hurdles but also bring more a common sense approach to the decisions we make here at the city,” said Ashton.“The City of Penticton is a sole source provider. We are a monopoly. But we shouldn’t act like a monopoly. And I say this respectfully, because there are a lot of good people who work here that are customer service orientated, but sometimes I think we forget that the people who we serve are the people who walk through our doors everyday. So, it is up to us to do everything possible to make sure that their point of contact with the city and their requests of the city are dealt with in as expedient, as efficient and as beneficial as humanly possible.”

Earlier this year, council hired business consulting company Helios Group Inc. to conduct a $70,000 core services review of the city’s entire operations. Helios’ final public report with all its ramifications and recommendations to council, said Ashton, is expected to be completed by late January or February. “When you get comfortable with the way you have done things all the way along, sometimes it is better if an outsider can come in, take a look at it and points out the other ways things can be done,” explains Ashton. “Helios’ report will look at everything we do, challenging staff and challenging (council) on how we can do things better. “It will give us an idea of how we can become more efficient. And it will ask: How do we become more proactive than reactive to the demands of not only the citizens of Penticton but to those who are coming here to do business? What have we got to do to be ready for the next turn in the economic cycle?”

Part of council’s strategy, said Ashton, will be the establishment of economic development zones that if adopted will delay, reduce or remove city taxes, fees and charges for businesses that improve, expand or outright build new facilities in Penticton’s hotel industry, downtown-core or manufacturing and industrial sectors. “Penticton has always been open for business but now we are telling the world that we are open for business and we are showing them by saying, ‘Bring us jobs, and we will give you the opportunity of giving you an easier start at your business where you are not worried about making payments for taxation,” explains Ashton. “What we are after is to bring more jobs and better paying jobs.”