COVID and Vernon’s future

[tabubil]

I am writing this letter out of fear, fear that the present mayor and council are going to spend our future and the future of our children.
With all the money that the Federal government is giving away many of the financial people are saying when this pandemic is over if the government does not tax the taxpayers into the ground it will take 10 to 15 years to get the books near balanced.
Our Provincial government has been giving money away also in the pandemic and before for hospitals, schools and many other things.
Our mayor and council and now endorsing spending $50 million for a new recreation centre, but let us not forget that they have agreed to the $45 million for the Cultural centre and they still went ahead with the 30 street extension who know if the mall will be open when it is completed.
What worries me the most is the fact that our mayor and council have never had the nerve to tell us what cuts they are taking to prevent the city from going into the red. They have lost a large chunk of change with the casinos not open and losing that money, then the hotel bed tax, no tourists no money and no one knows if they will ever come back in numbers. Then there is the gas tax, not many driving around now.
Do not forget that the rel-state market is said to drop by 10-20% so the loss of tax dollars again.
So Mr Mayor and council please have the decency to tell us the taxpayers how you plan to balance budgets and keep balancing them without this money and destroy our future and our children’s future.
Please do not just issue a brief statement but sit down with a reporter who can ask the hard questions and give a true accounting of what you are doing.
I also ask that you do not just read and comment but do as I am doing and sending this to my Mayor and council

[bob vernon]

Instead of asking the Mayor how he plans to balance the books, why not run for office next election and then you could tell us how you'd balance the books after getting a good look at them.

[sab30]

Instead of asking the Mayor how he plans to balance the books, why not run for office next election and then you could tell us how you'd balance the books after getting a good look at them.

So whoever wants to understand the financial direction and means of achieving them should run for Mayor to get this information??

Im confused, I thought we were allowed to question elected officials.

[common_sense_guy]

[quote="bob vernon"]Instead of asking the Mayor how he plans to balance the books, why not run for office next election and then you could tell us how you'd balance the books after getting a good look at them.[/quote


your advice really seems condescending. Absolutely makes no sense either.. do you really believe what you stated? I'm curious.

[bob vernon]

Yeah, it's condescending. It's just the kind of guy I am. All levels of gubment have done their best to cope with this virus situation. We haven't seen anything like this since the Depression in the 1930s and it requires extreme measures. And that means racking up the debt and trying to help as many as possible to get through this year intact. Any suggestion that we don't take extreme measures is probably more condescending than I am.

[common_sense_guy]

Yeah, it's condescending. It's just the kind of guy I am. All levels of gubment have done their best to cope with this virus situation. We haven't seen anything like this since the Depression in the 1930s and it requires extreme measures. And that means racking up the debt and trying to help as many as possible to get through this year intact. Any suggestion that we don't take extreme measures is probably more condescending than I am.

If your suggesting the only way someone should have a right to ask about a city's books is to run for office themselves is it's obviously you just baiting and being nonsensical.. Not a constructive comment at all. I'm certainly glad you have absolutely no power in the government of any level or in the Castanet Forum section. Maybe try and be an adult more with your comments.. the day we lose the right to question what government is doing is the day that we all die a little bit on the inside

[OKkayak]

Given the OPs posting history on how the City of Vernon conducts its business, I agree with bob vernon, maybe the OP should run for office and show us how it's done.

[DetectivePikachu]

If your suggesting the only way someone should have a right to ask about a city's books is to run for office themselves is it's obviously you just baiting and being nonsensical.. Not a constructive comment at all. I'm certainly glad you have absolutely no power in the government of any level or in the Castanet Forum section. Maybe try and be an adult more with your comments.. the day we lose the right to question what government is doing is the day that we all die a little bit on the inside

Na,

This OP cries non stop about the Vernon Mayor and council, Take a run though his post history.

I think bobs statmetns are for this individual not the general public, i agree with them.

[dontrump]

Yeah, it's condescending. It's just the kind of guy I am. All levels of gubment have done their best to cope with this virus situation. We haven't seen anything like this since the Depression in the 1930s and it requires extreme measures. And that means racking up the debt and trying to help as many as possible to get through this year intact. Any suggestion that we don't take extreme measures is probably more condescending than I am.

I have read a lot of ur posts and as misguided as you are the point the OP is trying to make from my take is DONT go ahead with the culture center and don't go ahead with the new rec center because yes we are racking up debt due directly to the cv19 epidemic ;; so we simply can not afford the 100 million in pie in the sky facility's after suffering through CV19
they need to be put on the back burner till this deal is all done and paid for

[bob vernon]

And the other side of the coin: putting all these projects on the back burner will leave all these tradesmen unemployed. How about going ahead with these public works projects. And putting the workers back to work. It's not "pie in the sky".

[nicholas p]

When these projects were approved the situation was different, now after COVID the situation is different. So the city has to put this on back burner & invest in projects where it helps in reducing debt which i directly reduces the taxes instead of worrying about a bunch of tradesman .

[tabubil]

Instead of asking the Mayor how he plans to balance the books, why not run for office next election and then you could tell us how you'd balance the books after getting a good look at them.

Sorry about taking so long ob but I have been staying off line while all this works out. Now to your question the reason I do not run is simple I am 75 years old and this should be a young persons job. I also do not have the patience for the way the system works. I ask for a business plan for the Cultural centre before the referendum got no response now they are just getting around to it, putting the cart before the horse. I am also upset at public hearings I have been to many and they do not listen and on two occasions I put a written submission in and was told by one person that it was not read or a copy available or that I even sent one. On another occasion I put one in and watched the video the same thing nothing ever said.
This council is rubber stamps re zoning bylaws to get the money it and pays no attention to all the empty buildings and offices available.
I am a taxpayer and as such I am their employer and entitled when requested to see the financial books not to be rushed aside.
Balancing the books easy get rid of the union or lower the wages by 20% then they might make what the other workers in town make. The best way is to balance the books every year.

[dontrump]

Instead of asking the Mayor how he plans to balance the books, why not run for office next election and then you could tell us how you'd balance the books after getting a good look at them.

Sorry about taking so long ob but I have been staying off line while all this works out. Now to your question the reason I do not run is simple I am 75 years old and this should be a young persons job. I also do not have the patience for the way the system works. I ask for a business plan for the Cultural centre before the referendum got no response now they are just getting around to it, putting the cart before the horse. I am also upset at public hearings I have been to many and they do not listen and on two occasions I put a written submission in and was told by one person that it was not read or a copy available or that I even sent one. On another occasion I put one in and watched the video the same thing nothing ever said.
This council is rubber stamps re zoning bylaws to get the money it and pays no attention to all the empty buildings and offices available.
I am a taxpayer and as such I am their employer and entitled when requested to see the financial books not to be rushed aside.
Balancing the books easy get rid of the union or lower the wages by 20% then they might make what the other workers in town make. The best way is to balance the books every year.

its not the citys job or right to decide who builds a new building who does not its called free enterprize its things like the high costs of running the city and why this is happening and address the absorbent property taxes and address need less spending all adding to the burden of the tax payer

[ksnosheeple]

Instead of asking the Mayor how he plans to balance the books, why not run for office next election and then you could tell us how you'd balance the books after getting a good look at them.

Tabubil doesn't seem to have a grasp on tax revenues and where each goes to. The city's books aren't hidden either, he could look them up and come up with his solutions. But it's much easier to b:cuss: Solutions take effort.

[tabubil]

Tabubil doesn't seem to have a grasp on tax revenues and where each goes to. The city's books aren't hidden either, he could look them up and come up with his solutions. But it's much easier to b:cuss: Solutions take effort.[/quote]
No some true information, I as a taxpayer cannot get access to any books for the city ( I have asked). If you check the agenda or watch any video which I do you will never hear any monthly report on income or expenses and if they do they will not go into details. Second we the taxpayers only get to have a very small input of the budget, then council passes it and the end of the year we are presented with an end of year report 157 pages long.
Now what I would like to know is how much money do we owe in long term debts and costs, and I would like to see a break down of the 26 million dollar wage bill we have. Into lets say part time and full time, then in areas lets see every 25 thousand just number of employees and in this hours worked regular, overtime, no worked and benefits. Why you ask well the last time the mayor dared to report union income over the six figures was many years ago and I would like to know how my money is spent.
For your information I have been a manager in a large business in Vernon and know that all these figures are pumped out by computers every day and should be available to us their employers (taxpayers)
Why they do not is simple the union will most l likely walk out if if was know how they cry when it hey are under paid at 80 thousand a year while a mother of 2 who works two jobs makes maybe 35 thousand .
Now if you can get all this information, I did check on the website and cannot find any of this please tell us so we all can see how our money is spent.
Yes I do know about money as a retired person I managed my money so now my wife and I have live comfortably on with only 2 CPP and 2 OAP cheques a month with money in the bank, so I do know how to budget and invest.
But do it before they spend 85 Million on the new recreation centre and most likely without giving us all the information or allowing us a referendum.