Dear editor,
Having moved from Courtenay and relocated to a warm southern beach community, I still enjoy reading about my old town, and my many friends there, especially the antics of the administration.
We wonder sometimes if the tail is wagging the dog in Courtenay, and if that dog has gone off leash and is dropping lawn chocolates everywhere, with no intention of picking up the mess.
Newspaper reports indicate they have taxpayer-funded lawyers and workers to do that. If this is Common Sense, then I fear we are all doomed.
It would seem normal rules of business don’t apply to the City of Courtenay.
Study after study points to Canadian municipal budgets (and taxes) accelerating way beyond the rate of inflation, and the ability of taxpayers to continue to pay.
I would think a responsible city administration might try to mitigate this.
So wondering, referencing the report by Peter Crawford in the newspaper — with a building department that sees its permit value for new construction drop steadily from a high of $71 million in 2005 to $30 million last year, have we seen a reduction of 50 per cent in the size, staffing, and cost of the building department?
Business cuts expenses when the income doesn’t support the activity in a specific area.
A 10-year decline is not a blip; it’s a trend. If the City is here to serve the citizens and not the real estate development community, maybe this is an area where cost savings and reduction in taxes could be made.
Just wondering.
Andy MacDougall,
Royston-by-the-Sea
