* News on 2nd Review of "New Prosperity" mine proposal was swift and predictable - see here (Globe and Mail), here (The Province), here (Statement from Union of BC Indian Chiefs) and here (The Rush)
* Cariboo-North MLA Bob Simpson petitions for high-speed Internet in rural parts of his riding - see here
* Local residents march last Friday in support of 'Occupy' movement - see here
* CRD Area 'G' Director Al Richmond reflects what his next term will look like - see here
* Tribune columnist Diana French looks at Remembrance Day and why the WL Council candidates are not discussing an Economic Plan 'B' - see here
* Leona Charleyboy of 150 Mile says First Nations - take advantage of your right to vote in the Williams Lake local election - see here
* Bev Atkins says voters should get informed about the 17 local election candidates for WL City Council - see here
Finally - Bob Simpson, on his blog today, looks at the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and the fact Remembrance Day is Friday and whether or not we are treating Remembrance Day with the solemnity and seriousness that it deserves - see here
Showing posts with label Al Richmond. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Al Richmond. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Local Gov't Nomination Information Website
Interested in when someone files in a municipality, regional district or school district...?
CivicInfoBC - a website for all things local government will post the information online as it is forwarded by local Chief Election Officers. See that website here
For example:
Cariboo Regional District:
CRD Chair/Area 'G' Director Al Richmond and Area 'I' Director Jim Glassford have filed their nomination papers as well as CRD Area 'H' Director hopefuls Ron Lister and Margo Wagner
City of Williams Lake:
No official names
City of Quesnel:
No official names
District of 100 Mile House:
No official names
District of Wells:
No official names
School Distict #28:
No official names
School District #27:
Tanya Guenther in Zone 2
Sheila Boehm in Zone 5
Oleh Lazarchuk in Zone 5
CivicInfoBC - a website for all things local government will post the information online as it is forwarded by local Chief Election Officers. See that website here
For example:
Cariboo Regional District:
CRD Chair/Area 'G' Director Al Richmond and Area 'I' Director Jim Glassford have filed their nomination papers as well as CRD Area 'H' Director hopefuls Ron Lister and Margo Wagner
City of Williams Lake:
No official names
City of Quesnel:
No official names
District of 100 Mile House:
No official names
District of Wells:
No official names
School Distict #28:
No official names
School District #27:
Tanya Guenther in Zone 2
Sheila Boehm in Zone 5
Oleh Lazarchuk in Zone 5
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Upcoming Local Gov't Items - Week of Oct 3-7
City of Williams Lake:
WL Council will consider a request from their CAO to endorse his bid for appointment to the RCMP Contract Management Committee which is an UBCM Committee. See more details here however, as one reader pointed out to me, a number of things come to mind:
1) Why wasn't someone like Dave Dickson considered for this post, given his role as the City's "Safer Community Coordinator"?
2) The item from UBCM is dated September 8th. This could have been presented to Council on September 13th or September 20th (at both meetings as a late item) but now Council is forced to make a decision on Tuesday (October 4th), given the deadline to submit a name to this Committee is Friday, October 7th
3) The CAO does not identify the cost for travel to the Committee meetings', although he does say the City of Williams Lake would be on the hook for those costs. The Committee would meet 4 times a year, although the possibility to meet more in the first year of the new RCMP Contract (should BC renew its' RCMP Contract) is there - I question why he didn't put that figure in so Council could consider this as part of their decision where to nomination the CAO or another staff person to the Committee?
Cariboo Regional District:
At their meeting next Thursday - the Agenda Format has been revamped to include the times that items will be dealt with. This is a good thing. However, Planning Items has been moved to the end of the meeting. When asked - CRD Chair Al Richmond says:
We had been planning to see if we could change the format for a while. This won't be without its challenges and I thought it might be best to try it with current board who are in a better position to evaluate it
However - at the September 15th CRD Board Meeting - the City of Williams Lake CRD Director (and WL Mayor) Kerry Cook publicly complained about the Agenda Meeting format and the fact that it doesn't work for her schedule and this, in spite of the fact that she has not one but two Alternates that can attend in her place. Those Alternate Directors' are WL City Councillors' Sue Zacharias and SPS Rathor
For the record - the City of Williams Lake is only entitled to have One Alternate Director as it has One Director on the Cariboo Regional District Board, as per Section 786 of the Local Government Act as per below:
786 (1) The council of a municipality may appoint a council member as an alternate director.
(2) The alternate director may take the place of, vote and generally act in all matters for an absent municipal director, including a matter delegated to that director by the board.
(2.1) If there is more than one municipal director, the authority under subsection (1) may be exercised either
(a) by specifying for each municipal director, the council member who is the alternate director for that municipal director, or
(b) by appointing a number of alternate directors and establishing a system to determine which alternate director is to act in the place of any absent municipal director.
(2.2) As a restriction on subsection (2.1) (b), at any one time an alternate director may only act in place of a single municipal director.
(3) If the council appoints an alternate director, the municipal corporate officer must notify the regional district corporate officer of the appointment in writing.
(4) An alternate director holds office as alternate director until another council member is appointed as a replacement and the regional district corporate officer has been notified of the new appointment.
(5) If the seat of a municipal director becomes vacant through resignation, disqualification or death, the alternate director appointed under subsection (1) becomes the municipal director in place of the director whose seat became vacant until a new director is appointed.
Also - the CRD Board has considered Planning Items at the beginning of its' meetings since January of 2002. If there were problems, then CRD Chair Al Richmond should have taken this to the Board as an Agenda Item and the Board made a decision, as a body, on its' Agenda Format, rather than the real public perception that the Board Agenda Format being changed on the say-so public complaint of one Director
SBF
WL Council will consider a request from their CAO to endorse his bid for appointment to the RCMP Contract Management Committee which is an UBCM Committee. See more details here however, as one reader pointed out to me, a number of things come to mind:
1) Why wasn't someone like Dave Dickson considered for this post, given his role as the City's "Safer Community Coordinator"?
2) The item from UBCM is dated September 8th. This could have been presented to Council on September 13th or September 20th (at both meetings as a late item) but now Council is forced to make a decision on Tuesday (October 4th), given the deadline to submit a name to this Committee is Friday, October 7th
3) The CAO does not identify the cost for travel to the Committee meetings', although he does say the City of Williams Lake would be on the hook for those costs. The Committee would meet 4 times a year, although the possibility to meet more in the first year of the new RCMP Contract (should BC renew its' RCMP Contract) is there - I question why he didn't put that figure in so Council could consider this as part of their decision where to nomination the CAO or another staff person to the Committee?
Cariboo Regional District:
At their meeting next Thursday - the Agenda Format has been revamped to include the times that items will be dealt with. This is a good thing. However, Planning Items has been moved to the end of the meeting. When asked - CRD Chair Al Richmond says:
We had been planning to see if we could change the format for a while. This won't be without its challenges and I thought it might be best to try it with current board who are in a better position to evaluate it
However - at the September 15th CRD Board Meeting - the City of Williams Lake CRD Director (and WL Mayor) Kerry Cook publicly complained about the Agenda Meeting format and the fact that it doesn't work for her schedule and this, in spite of the fact that she has not one but two Alternates that can attend in her place. Those Alternate Directors' are WL City Councillors' Sue Zacharias and SPS Rathor
For the record - the City of Williams Lake is only entitled to have One Alternate Director as it has One Director on the Cariboo Regional District Board, as per Section 786 of the Local Government Act as per below:
786 (1) The council of a municipality may appoint a council member as an alternate director.
(2) The alternate director may take the place of, vote and generally act in all matters for an absent municipal director, including a matter delegated to that director by the board.
(2.1) If there is more than one municipal director, the authority under subsection (1) may be exercised either
(a) by specifying for each municipal director, the council member who is the alternate director for that municipal director, or
(b) by appointing a number of alternate directors and establishing a system to determine which alternate director is to act in the place of any absent municipal director.
(2.2) As a restriction on subsection (2.1) (b), at any one time an alternate director may only act in place of a single municipal director.
(3) If the council appoints an alternate director, the municipal corporate officer must notify the regional district corporate officer of the appointment in writing.
(4) An alternate director holds office as alternate director until another council member is appointed as a replacement and the regional district corporate officer has been notified of the new appointment.
(5) If the seat of a municipal director becomes vacant through resignation, disqualification or death, the alternate director appointed under subsection (1) becomes the municipal director in place of the director whose seat became vacant until a new director is appointed.
Also - the CRD Board has considered Planning Items at the beginning of its' meetings since January of 2002. If there were problems, then CRD Chair Al Richmond should have taken this to the Board as an Agenda Item and the Board made a decision, as a body, on its' Agenda Format, rather than the real public perception that the Board Agenda Format being changed on the say-so public complaint of one Director
SBF
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Mid-Week News Wrap - August 31st edition
In Quesnel:
* Cariboo-North MLA Bob Simpson weighs in on HST Rejection - see here
* Letter writer Susan Maile laments about the HST Rejection and what it could mean for basic services like health and education - see here
In 100 Mile:
* CRD accepting applications for 2012 Grant-in-Aides until September 30th- see here
* District of 100 Mile House advises local residents on sewer system flush from August 29th - Sept 2nd - see here
* Local editorial on HST Rejection - see here
In Williams Lake:
* Audrey MacLise says that MSP Premiums should not be charged to seniors - see here
* According to the WL Seniors' Advisory Council website (see here)- their next "Members' meeting" - will be on Wednesday, September 21st at 1:00pm in the WL Public Library Meeting Room
* Williams Lake Independent Community TV does a really good story on the outcome of the HST and an interview with CRD Chair Al Richmond on the proposed Municipal Auditor-General - see here
* Dog and Suds Restaurant gets "approval-in-principle" from WL City Council - see here
* Prosperity Mines revised application applauded at WL City Council's meeting last night - see here
* Donna Barnett goes over a "Day in the Life of the Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA" - see here
* Diana French (Tribune columnist) reviews the rejection of the HST and how it is was good, overall, for average folks exercising their democratic rights - see here
* 3 Videos - upcoming public consultation meetings on new CRD Solid Waste Management Plan, Municipal Auditor-General and proposed "Code of Conduct"for CRD Directors':
* Cariboo-North MLA Bob Simpson weighs in on HST Rejection - see here
* Letter writer Susan Maile laments about the HST Rejection and what it could mean for basic services like health and education - see here
In 100 Mile:
* CRD accepting applications for 2012 Grant-in-Aides until September 30th- see here
* District of 100 Mile House advises local residents on sewer system flush from August 29th - Sept 2nd - see here
* Local editorial on HST Rejection - see here
In Williams Lake:
* Audrey MacLise says that MSP Premiums should not be charged to seniors - see here
* According to the WL Seniors' Advisory Council website (see here)- their next "Members' meeting" - will be on Wednesday, September 21st at 1:00pm in the WL Public Library Meeting Room
* Williams Lake Independent Community TV does a really good story on the outcome of the HST and an interview with CRD Chair Al Richmond on the proposed Municipal Auditor-General - see here
* Dog and Suds Restaurant gets "approval-in-principle" from WL City Council - see here
* Prosperity Mines revised application applauded at WL City Council's meeting last night - see here
* Donna Barnett goes over a "Day in the Life of the Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA" - see here
* Diana French (Tribune columnist) reviews the rejection of the HST and how it is was good, overall, for average folks exercising their democratic rights - see here
* 3 Videos - upcoming public consultation meetings on new CRD Solid Waste Management Plan, Municipal Auditor-General and proposed "Code of Conduct"for CRD Directors':
Monday, August 22, 2011
Letter to BC Premier C. Clark/Minister Ida Chong on Municipal Auditor-General
Today, I wrote BC Premier Christy Clark and Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister Ida Chong on the policy idea of a Municipal Auditor-General. See below for the letter:
I am writing to you on the proposed establishment of a municipal Auditor-General for the roughly 180+ municipal/regional district governments in the Province of British Columbia
For someone who has actively watched local governments in the Cariboo-Chilcotin since 2001, the primary reason as to why a municipal Auditor-General is being proposed and, in my humble opinion, thrust onto local governments relates to the public perception about local government spending, especially as it relates to those local governments in Metro Vancouver where a big chunk of the increase in spending either relates to decisions made by local municipal governments or as it relates to union contracts, again decisions made at the local level
Secondly – I’ve reviewed the distributed survey to all UBCM members on a Municipal Auditor-General. To be perfectly frank – I find the language very leading, which leads me to believe Victoria has already decided to have a Municipal Auditor-General, regardless of how local governments respond to the survey. I find this development stunning, just after going through the very public exercise over the Harmonized Sales Tax debacle
Thirdly – I categorically reject the assertion that small local governments (ie: Villages, Districts) need the position of a Municipal Auditor-General, in order to conduct “value for money” audits. If a village or district, in addition to other local governments, want to do a “value for money” audit in addition to a special audit (outside of the usual auditing of Financial Statements), then a local government can choose to do so. Victoria should not dictate this to local governments, especially after Victoria enacted the Community Charter in 2004 with Section 1 of the Charter stipulating as follows:
1 (1) Municipalities and their councils are recognized as an order of government within their jurisdiction that
(a) is democratically elected, autonomous, responsible and accountable,
(b) is established and continued by the will of the residents of their communities, and
(c) provides for the municipal purposes of their communities.
Fourthly – By the actions of Victoria on a Municipal Auditor General – announce first, then consult with the UBCM breaks previous practice and doesn’t build a consultative relationship between the Union of BC Municipalities and Victoria, as was present during the building of the Community Charter. Saying that Premier Clark announced this during the recent BC Liberal Party Leadership race and local government officials should have paid attention does not, in itself, constitute consultation with UBCM and local governments
In conclusion - The provincial government would do well to kill this proposal as it does nothing to solve the issue of municipal spending. If Victoria decided not to get directly involved in the issue of industrial taxation issues, then Victoria should be prepared to do the same on general municipal spending, which in my opinion, is directly tied to the proposal for a Municipal Auditor-General, but will only add to the bureaucracy. In fact – there is no information, at present, as to who will pay for this position. Will local governments have to pay for this post or will provincial taxpayers have to pay for another bureaucrat?
I strongly encourage you to repeal this policy idea and allow the debate of spending by local governments to take place at a local level, as it should and will take place in our local communities, especially with civic elections coming up in November
Should you wish to discuss this letter further – I can be contacted in the following ways:
Phone – 250-267-6725
Email: sforseth000@hotmail.com
Respectfully yours,
Steve Forseth
Williams Lake, BC
CC: Alberto DeFeo, CAO – District of Lake Country (via email)
Al Richmond, Chair – Cariboo Regional District (via email)
Mary Sjostrom, Mayor – City of Quesnel (via email)
Donna Barnett, MLA – Cariboo-Chilcotin (via email)
I am writing to you on the proposed establishment of a municipal Auditor-General for the roughly 180+ municipal/regional district governments in the Province of British Columbia
For someone who has actively watched local governments in the Cariboo-Chilcotin since 2001, the primary reason as to why a municipal Auditor-General is being proposed and, in my humble opinion, thrust onto local governments relates to the public perception about local government spending, especially as it relates to those local governments in Metro Vancouver where a big chunk of the increase in spending either relates to decisions made by local municipal governments or as it relates to union contracts, again decisions made at the local level
Secondly – I’ve reviewed the distributed survey to all UBCM members on a Municipal Auditor-General. To be perfectly frank – I find the language very leading, which leads me to believe Victoria has already decided to have a Municipal Auditor-General, regardless of how local governments respond to the survey. I find this development stunning, just after going through the very public exercise over the Harmonized Sales Tax debacle
Thirdly – I categorically reject the assertion that small local governments (ie: Villages, Districts) need the position of a Municipal Auditor-General, in order to conduct “value for money” audits. If a village or district, in addition to other local governments, want to do a “value for money” audit in addition to a special audit (outside of the usual auditing of Financial Statements), then a local government can choose to do so. Victoria should not dictate this to local governments, especially after Victoria enacted the Community Charter in 2004 with Section 1 of the Charter stipulating as follows:
1 (1) Municipalities and their councils are recognized as an order of government within their jurisdiction that
(a) is democratically elected, autonomous, responsible and accountable,
(b) is established and continued by the will of the residents of their communities, and
(c) provides for the municipal purposes of their communities.
Fourthly – By the actions of Victoria on a Municipal Auditor General – announce first, then consult with the UBCM breaks previous practice and doesn’t build a consultative relationship between the Union of BC Municipalities and Victoria, as was present during the building of the Community Charter. Saying that Premier Clark announced this during the recent BC Liberal Party Leadership race and local government officials should have paid attention does not, in itself, constitute consultation with UBCM and local governments
In conclusion - The provincial government would do well to kill this proposal as it does nothing to solve the issue of municipal spending. If Victoria decided not to get directly involved in the issue of industrial taxation issues, then Victoria should be prepared to do the same on general municipal spending, which in my opinion, is directly tied to the proposal for a Municipal Auditor-General, but will only add to the bureaucracy. In fact – there is no information, at present, as to who will pay for this position. Will local governments have to pay for this post or will provincial taxpayers have to pay for another bureaucrat?
I strongly encourage you to repeal this policy idea and allow the debate of spending by local governments to take place at a local level, as it should and will take place in our local communities, especially with civic elections coming up in November
Should you wish to discuss this letter further – I can be contacted in the following ways:
Phone – 250-267-6725
Email: sforseth000@hotmail.com
Respectfully yours,
Steve Forseth
Williams Lake, BC
CC: Alberto DeFeo, CAO – District of Lake Country (via email)
Al Richmond, Chair – Cariboo Regional District (via email)
Mary Sjostrom, Mayor – City of Quesnel (via email)
Donna Barnett, MLA – Cariboo-Chilcotin (via email)
Monday, August 1, 2011
On-line Presence of Local Government Elected Officials
In times past - your local elected officials, be they Mayors, Councillors, Electoral Area Directors (Regional Districts) or even School District Trustees kept in touch with their constituents via traditional means like phone calls or "one-on-one" meetings to discuss issues in their local communities and solutions
However - with the advent of the electronic age, an increasing number of these elected officials have now turned to electronic tools to keep their constituents up to date and to have a conversation with them about on-going local issues. Some of the tools now used include Facebook, Twitter, blogs and websites. Use of Facebook, Twitter and a blog cost nothing to set up and as long as the elected offical maintains their online presence, it is one way to ensure people know what is going on in their local community, in case they don't wish to go through the expense to maintaining a website and the related costs
Here in BC - a significant number of politicians have begun to use a combination of either social media (Facebook, Twitter) along with either blogs/websites or just social media only(Facebook/Twitter) to keep their constituents up to speed on issues they're working on or to get input from the public.
And while the traditional tools of one-on-one contact (phone, email or in person) or letter writing will always remain to keep in touch between the local elected official and local constituent, the new electronic tools (Facebook, Twitter, blogs or websites) are now another tool available to help keep local people informed what their local government is up to
Examples In Rural BC:
Cariboo Regional District Area 'D' Director Deb Bischoff - see her website here
Cariboo Regional District Area 'G' Director/CRD Chair Al Richmond - see his website here
Cariboo Regional District Area 'L' Director Bruce Rattray - see his website here
Examples In the Metro Vancouver area:
Township of Langley Councillor Jordan Bateman - see here
Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore - see here
However - with the advent of the electronic age, an increasing number of these elected officials have now turned to electronic tools to keep their constituents up to date and to have a conversation with them about on-going local issues. Some of the tools now used include Facebook, Twitter, blogs and websites. Use of Facebook, Twitter and a blog cost nothing to set up and as long as the elected offical maintains their online presence, it is one way to ensure people know what is going on in their local community, in case they don't wish to go through the expense to maintaining a website and the related costs
Here in BC - a significant number of politicians have begun to use a combination of either social media (Facebook, Twitter) along with either blogs/websites or just social media only(Facebook/Twitter) to keep their constituents up to speed on issues they're working on or to get input from the public.
And while the traditional tools of one-on-one contact (phone, email or in person) or letter writing will always remain to keep in touch between the local elected official and local constituent, the new electronic tools (Facebook, Twitter, blogs or websites) are now another tool available to help keep local people informed what their local government is up to
Examples In Rural BC:
Cariboo Regional District Area 'D' Director Deb Bischoff - see her website here
Cariboo Regional District Area 'G' Director/CRD Chair Al Richmond - see his website here
Cariboo Regional District Area 'L' Director Bruce Rattray - see his website here
Examples In the Metro Vancouver area:
Township of Langley Councillor Jordan Bateman - see here
Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore - see here
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