Vernon’s mayor insists provincial officials aren’t getting a biased view of governance.
Wayne Lippert met with Community Minister Ida Chong Thursday about the ongoing conflict between Greater Vernon partners.
“There’s a level of frustration,” he said of the situation involving service reviews and voting procedures.
Lippert denies the city is trying to present itself as a victim of actions from Coldstream and the North Okanagan Regional District.
“The regional district has been down to Victoria on the same issues,” he said.
“It’s not just one side coming from the city.”
Chong told Lippert she will look into the city’s concerns and a ministry representative will visit Greater Vernon to try and provide clarity on provincial legislation.
“They would work with NORD on questions around voting and structure,” he said.
NORD chairperson Herman Halvorson welcomes the ministry’s involvement in the process.
“It’s good to have a review of process. I’m sure it will give us the clarity we need on voting and bylaws,” said Halvorson.
Lippert and Chong also spoke briefly about possible amalgamation as he presented her with a letter from the Foothills Community Association on the topic.
However, Lippert says he did not make a pitch for a single jurisdiction for Greater Vernon.
“As much as we’d possibly like to see something like that, we’d like to find basic solutions for governance,” he said.
Instead of regional functions for parks and recreation or water, Lippert believes the city could provide the service to others through contracts.
“We have a sewer agreement and you hardly hear anything about it,” he said.
“Look at emergency social services and everyone is on contract, as is fire inspection.”
