Vernon fed up with downloading

by Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Vernon posted Sep 30, 2016 at 6:00 AM
Vernon wants the downloading to stop. Council members discussed policing costs with Community Development Minister Coralee Oakes at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Victoria Wednesday. Mayor Akbal Mund says there’s a growing problem with cities being charged for DNA analysis and police dogs. “We get notified on it and within a week, we get an invoice,” he said. “There’s no time for the community to say, ‘How do we put this into the budget?’” As an example, the city was charged $27,000 a year for dog services. “We don’t budget for that. All of a sudden, it’s bingo, ‘Here you go,’” said Mund. The city is asking the provincial government to provide more consultation over police costs. “We don’t want any surprises,” said Mund. Council officials also met Thursday with Transportation Minister Todd Stone about the need for south-bound turn lanes at 32nd Street and 32nd and 43rd avenues. “We want to move them up on the project list,” said Mund.