Castanet

Hmm... wonder if it is early onset? If so, be kind and I'd suspect council will deal with it.

Come on “mayor” Vass ,your vote against charging a $1 fee per electric bill is merely political grandstanding.
Council approved the continuation of the charge 6-1. Get with the real world, people can get the bills by going online ( like you apparently do or your kids do for you) . Why would the City subsidize people who will not or cannot get it online? It is only a dollar but adds up to over $140,000 to the City to offset costs ( not a profit centre) associated with preparing and mailing the bills to those that receive them.
Vass you represent ALL the citizens of Penticton not just those that you think voted for you ( nice Trump move ). Vass you are the “mayor “ ,your responsibility is also to appropriately oversee the City’s electric business (asset ). Your vote demonstrates you don’t get that !
ACT like a Mayor !!!!

So after talking about how Vass and new council have this wonderful support team … The Weeb throws in the towel. So what is really going on in the big white building. There seems to be some form of internal dysfuncton in upper management that simply does not allow for qualified senior people to want to stay. Who is really pulling the strings?

https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-s ... htm#246317

If you get offered a better job in the private sector you take it. The fact that the private sector wanted Weeber speaks to the fact that he was a very capable guy. I for one thought he did a good job and was the best CAO we have had in recent memory. Best of luck to him and I am glad he will be remaining in Penticton. I suspect this is not the last we will see of Weeber in one way or another.

Chessman wrote:Why would the City subsidize people who will not or cannot get it online?

Why would you penalize people who do not have internet access? Has it become mandatory? It's a matter of perspective.

From a marketing standpoint, wouldn't it be smarter to offer a discount to those paying online? It's like their "early payment discount", it's not really just a clever disguise for a late payment penalty is it?

CTF wrote:If you get offered a better job in the private sector you take it. The fact that the private sector wanted Weeber speaks to the fact that he was a very capable guy. I for one thought he did a good job and was the best CAO we have had in recent memory. Best of luck to him and I am glad he will be remaining in Penticton. I suspect this is not the last we will see of Weeber in one way or another.

CTF .. you are obviously in the know. How do you know he is staying in Penticton? I didn't see this in the story at all.

southy wrote:
CTF .. you are obviously in the know. How do you know he is staying in Penticton? I didn't see this in the story at all.

Yes, good question, Southy. Nothing in that story mentions staying in Penticton. Perhaps CTF has some inside info?

Also, its my opinion that Weeb and Vass may not see eye to eye on many upcoming issues. Weeb likely was tired of politics and found as good or better job in the private sector without the BS that goes on in the big white house.

The reality is (so I am told by several staffers I know ) working at the City is just a job. Pay is not great compared to a private sector job ( if you are good enough to get one ). Weeb could have also had potential or real issues with Vass , I am told he liked Jak. Vass had a terrible reputation as a Councillor for the way he treated staff at the City. Maybe he has changed now that he is the “mayor”?
Final thought, there is not an imaginary person or persons pulling the strings as a puppet master that causes staff to leave the City.
Bad pay, not ideal working conditions ( working for a complaint based public and terrible media ) and elected officials is the root cause.
If you can get a better job elsewhere you go...it is as simple as that.
The Weeb has moved to the private sector. Enough said.

Not sure I'm buying it! Thanks Chessman. Time will tell.

Chessman wrote:The reality is (so I am told by several staffers I know ) working at the City is just a job. Pay is not great compared to a private sector job ( if you are good enough to get one ). Weeb could have also had potential or real issues with Vass , I am told he liked Jak. Vass had a terrible reputation as a Councillor for the way he treated staff at the City. Maybe he has changed now that he is the “mayor”?
Final thought, there is not an imaginary person or persons pulling the strings as a puppet master that causes staff to leave the City.
Bad pay, not ideal working conditions ( working for a complaint based public and terrible media ) and elected officials is the root cause.
If you can get a better job elsewhere you go...it is as simple as that.
The Weeb has moved to the private sector. Enough said.

What a load of bull dung. Sore loser throwing out nothing but innuendo.

And I am in agreement with Fluff. The better alternative to paper billing would be incentive driven.....a discount to people able to and willing to receive paperless bills rather than penalize those that cannot or do not want just electronic. And Vaz also has another valid point. The City electrical utility make profits that transfer millions every year to a utilities slush fund to go to for pet projects or emergency funding. Let's be real.....mostly pet projects. What was raided for 3 downtown blocks for cripes sake.
So someone please explain to me why Council is having a discussion about a "buck a bill" charged is not covering the cost of mailing the bill out of general operating accounts when the profits of the electric utility are in a separate account??
Common sense tells me if the City Electric utility is making a million plus a yr that can be raided for pet projects and emergency funding........Vaz is absolutely correct in that the bill should be part of the City Electrical Utility instead of a general City Hall expense that just makes it look like there are more profits than there really are. For cripes sake, Fortis, BC Hydro, Shaw, Telus, Bell......etc have to pay to mail a bill to customers. This buck a bill bs is just classic death by a thousand paper cuts that just slips by the general population because they are already too numbed to even bother to try and understand how many different ways every level of government is trying to get another 1.5% off of every paycheque each yr.

I agree with twobits. The Electrical Dept has made millions over the years and does use that money to fund other projects. I recall when Mike P$arce was mayor; he considered contracting out that dept but then realized what a gold mine it was and had second thoughts.

I recently received a notice from my Natural Gas supplier asking if I wanted to receive e-bills instead of paper/mail-out ones. I had to send in a notice within a certain time if I wanted to keep receiving bills in the mail, which I did. There was never any mention of an extra charge, nor should there be. Same goes for the City Bills. I applaud Vassalaki for standing his ground on this one.

Speaking of where the money is to cover those unexpected expenses. This is one we really need to keep an eye on:
https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-s ... htm#246378

I could be wrong, but didn't we have this go around not to many years ago when the city was on a push to expand bike lanes?
Remember the Ellis Street drama. Think Government Street was also involved. And of course … better also keep an eye where city might be sliding money with regard to the Bike Valet for the ever popular downtown market. Perhaps we should all buy stock in Spandex … could be big sales this year. What a bunch of opportunists. Watch them very very carefully. Just wondering … since Jak left city hall are there any spandex wearing councillors who ride?