Councillors are paid by the taxpayers to attend meetings to conduct business for the community. Helmut Manzl was 100 per cent right to point out attendance records in his recent column. If the councillors for some reason cannot attend a meeting and there are extenuating circumstances of which the public is not aware, make the public aware. I hope Councillor Jason Blackman-Wulff’s situation gets better – sorry.
If the councillors find it a hardship to attend the meetings for which they are paid and to also honour their volunteer commitments, maybe they need to re-evaluate their time. If I have a problem with my volunteer commitments and my paid job, I have to make a decision on which is more important. Doing both will compromise my ability to do a good job. Blackman-Wulff seems to be spending a fair amount of time and energy on affordable housing. He doesn’t seem to be able to catch this one. The problem is this: property taxes, utility fees, development fees. With the problem identified, just fix it. As Judge Judy titled her book, “Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining.”
I have witnessed over and over again the mayors and councillors pushing the needs of the community aside and chasing their vision. These people only last one term, and the community is left with a big financial mess. Our taxes have doubled in recent years and with more increases, there is no end in sight. Council’s special interest projects are financially destroying our community.
In our democracy, Manzl has every right (as does every citizen) to question the goings-on of our elected officials. After all, our taxes are increasing substantially, and it’s obvious something isn’t working. Having Councillor Ted Prior question Manzl’s competence for flagging this is reprehensible. I think you doth complain far too much.
By the way, why are the elected officials taking holidays mid-session? I thought this was the whole point of shutting down two months in the summer. Who decided that? I don’t recall that being approved by the taxpayers; are they creating their own rules now? In Orwell’s Animal Farm, “some are more equal than others.” Is this happening in Squamish?
In last week’s letters to the editor, Bill Mracek used the phrase “municipal piggybank,” which paints a great picture. Lots of piggybank raiding is going on.
Dave Colledge
Brackendale
