Annual Christmas Dinner with the Killiney Beach Seniors

Enjoyed a Christmas Feast, with all the fixin’s at the Annual Killiney Beach Seniors Association Turkey Dinner. I do enjoy this event and the opportunity to talk to my fellow residents. During these conversations both here and at last week’s Santa Fundraiser I have found  overwhelming support and encouragement from just about everyone on the quest for a Governance Study for the North Westside. Over and over residents have voiced their support for the current direction toward a stronger voice or possible self governance in regards to the direction and operations of our community services and functions.

This upcoming RDCO Board Meeting on Monday December 12 2016 @ 7pm in the Woodhaven Board Room at the RDCO Offices in Kelowna should be the meeting where a decision on Board support for the North Westside Resolution  for a Governance Study is finally made… or not.

The Province has indicated the Minister is favourable to the Study and that funding still exists within  the Budget for this type and size of project, all that is needed is an application from the RDCO at the request of the Regional Board.

Electoral Area Governance Issues were first officially identified in the May 2015 RDCO Strategic Planning session and subsequent documentation generated as a result of those days of costly planning sessions at The Cove Resort in West Kelowna identify EA dissatisfaction with their current governance model. Since these sessions and the resulting Strategic Planning Update no meetings, no actions and no movement have come from the Board Chair, CAO or other Board Members to address this issue, NOTHING. If anything the sense of alienation has escalated. It seems to have become even more focused on disregarding input from the elected representatives. It is the EA Directors function to present policy, direction and to determine financial accountability/allocation in respect to the EA services and functions they were elected to represent.

This period since spring 2015 has in fact seen a decline in the relationship of the Board to the point of dysfunction from the perspective of the EA Directors. Let’s hope that support for this motion and the transparency of an independent outside view on Governance, even if it’s just for the North Westside will be a refreshing change to the constant disregard currently shown to the EA Directors opinions and input.

Elections are intended to have consequences. If the regional district bureaucracy is allowed to run roughshod over the democratic system by disregarding the elected representatives then what is the point of elections and politicians.