Written by Peter McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM Friday, 20 September 2013 10:50
Vernon's mayor is defending the cost of sending himself, two other council members, and the city's administrator for five days of civic meetings in Vancouver Rob Sawatzky says the Union of BC Municipalities conference is no holiday. "It's really a lot of work," Sawatzky tells Kiss FM. "There are so many simultaneous sessions that you have to coordinate between the three of you how you are going to attend so many interesting, important and conflicting sessions." Sawatzky is at the meetings with councillors Juliette Cunningham and Catherine Lord, and administrator Will Pearce. While the elected reps from Vernon have not been taking part in the usual 15 minute meetings with various BC cabinet ministers, a process Sawatzky refers to as "speed-dating," he says Pearce has been talking with the ministers. In other UBCM news, municipal elections will be held every four years-- if BC's civic leaders get their way with Victoria. Delegates at the UBCM have voted 60% in favour of extending the terms from the current three years. The resolution calls for the government to make the change in time for the next municipal elections in November 2014. Jordan Bateman with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says the change could save money on election infrastructure like polling stations and staff. Not all mayors support the idea though, saying the three-year term give voters a say more often about who represents them. UBCM delegates have also supported a resolution from Kelowna calling on the BC government to amend the Motor Vehicle Act to give police a clear definition of what is noise pollution coming from the exhaust of motorcycles and motor boats. The noise levels, as supported by Transport Canada, are 92 decibels at engine idle and 96 DB at 2,000 r.p.m. Rhona Martin from Sicamous is the new UBCM president-elect. The Columbia-Shuswap Regional District board vice-chair was acclaimed to the one-year post on Wednesday.
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