Things are tight....but it's getting better.
Vernon Mayor Wayne Lippert
(pictured) says he's hearing that more positive outlook on the economy as he meets with hundreds of other civic leaders at the Union of BC Municipalities conference in Whistler. "In the spring I felt bad almost because compared to a number of communities, Vernon and the Okanagan were faring very much better than a lot of other areas around the province, but now it seems to be picking up. There's still some areas that are very much hurting, but the outlook is better." Meantime, Lippert and the city's other reps met with Solicitor General Mike de Jong in Whistler to outline concerns about paying more than their fair share for policing under the integrated model. The mayor tells KISS FM, "There are only five or six integrated detachments I believe in the province so they didn't really look at them from the same aspect as their other sources. I felt very positive about the meeting. He took our report and said he would look at our concerns." Lippert says the city would like to see the province move to equal policing costs for all communities. "It wouldn't matter where you lived, if you were in a city or electoral area, the cost of policing would be the same. He says the electoral areas currently pay 10 percent while cities pay 90 percent and subsidize the cost of support staff. Lippert says the city has had its busiest schedule ever at the convention, meeting with eight ministers and Premier Campbell. He says there's a lot more "honesty" in the meetings this year because the province no longer has big money to give out for projects.
Vernon Mayor Wayne Lippert (pictured) says he's hearing that more positive outlook on the economy as he meets with hundreds of other civic leaders at the Union of BC Municipalities conference in Whistler. "In the spring I felt bad almost because compared to a number of communities, Vernon and the Okanagan were faring very much better than a lot of other areas around the province, but now it seems to be picking up. There's still some areas that are very much hurting, but the outlook is better." Meantime, Lippert and the city's other reps met with Solicitor General Mike de Jong in Whistler to outline concerns about paying more than their fair share for policing under the integrated model. The mayor tells KISS FM, "There are only five or six integrated detachments I believe in the province so they didn't really look at them from the same aspect as their other sources. I felt very positive about the meeting. He took our report and said he would look at our concerns." Lippert says the city would like to see the province move to equal policing costs for all communities. "It wouldn't matter where you lived, if you were in a city or electoral area, the cost of policing would be the same. He says the electoral areas currently pay 10 percent while cities pay 90 percent and subsidize the cost of support staff. Lippert says the city has had its busiest schedule ever at the convention, meeting with eight ministers and Premier Campbell. He says there's a lot more "honesty" in the meetings this year because the province no longer has big money to give out for projects.
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