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The March 5, 2012, FPCOW Meeting

In CITY FINANCE, CITY GOVERNMENT on March 6, 2012 at 1:31 am

Ron Bolin: March 5, 2012

The first FPCOW meeting to be held at the VICC took place this afternoon.  The Commission Reports on Public Art selection; Travel Assistance Grant Changes, and the Minutes of the Parks. Recreation and Culture Committee were accepted as presented.

The Conflict of Interest policy as recommended by Staff was accepted after some discussion and with a strenuous, and I thought, well reasoned objection from Councillor Anderson.  Councillor Anderson had made calls to Councillors in other jurisdictions to determine their conflict of interest policy, but only found one.  All others did not have such a policy, leaving Councillors to determine such matters for themselves.   He asked for an extension of a week to consider his position and his findings, but was defeated in this request, though joined by Councillors Pattje and McKay.  In the end Councillor Anderson’s was the only vote against staff’s recommendation to offer each Councillor in each year up to $3000 in automatic legal opinion costs regarding the possibility of conflict of interest.  The recommendation noted that more money could be provided for such opinions at Council’s discretion.

Council’s interest in this matter became much clearer during question period when Mr. Kenning pointed out that while a conflict of interest question might be found in a court of law, if the offending Councillor had a legal opinion (not a legal decision, but an opinion for a lawyer), even if he or she were to be found guilty, that they would not lose their seat on Council.  Read the rest of this entry »

What’s Up at FPCOW on Monday, March 5, 2012

In CITY FINANCE, CITY GOVERNMENT, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT on March 1, 2012 at 9:34 pm

Ron Bolin:  March 1, 2012

This will be the first meeting of FPCOW (the OTHER Council Meeting) to be held at the Shaw Auditorium, the site where “regular” Council meetings are held.  As before, FPCOW (Financial and Policy Committee of the Whole) meetings are held at 4:30pm.  You can rest assured that there will be plenty of room, so come speak either as a registered delegation, without registering under the aegis of item 6 (a) on the Agenda which is for delegations  pertaining to the 2012-2016 Financial Plan aka the budget, or just to listen to how your money is spent.  Remember that items in the budget, including the recently hastily added position of Communication Manager, are still up for discussion and can be changed.

And it looks like Council was its own Delegation Pertaining to the 2012 -2016 Financial Plan at the last FPCOW meeting as the moving, seconding AND adoption of the Communication Manager Position is given under this agenda item in the minutes of that meeting.  Now that is efficiency in spending $140,000. Hats off to Ruttan, Brennan, Anderson, Johnstone and McKay for their alacrity!  Who even knew that budget items like this could be handled within a single unregistered delegation?  Keep this swift action in mind as you consider what to present.  There seems to be lots of money available. Read the rest of this entry »

Observations on the Council Meeting of Monday, Feb. 27, 2012

In CITY FINANCE, CITY GOVERNMENT on February 29, 2012 at 12:33 am

Ron Bolin:  Feb 28, 2012

The meeting opened with 10 Late Items that the public would most likely not be aware of and thus be unable to respond.  I have written before that in all but the most urgent cases, this lack of respect for the public is uncalled for and should not be countenanced.  One of these items was to correct a typographical error in the Council Minutes;  four were from citizens wishing to express their concern on the topic of the Linley Valley; one was a report from the Mayor on the City’s Strategic Plan noting that on March 1 the City will introduce a  blog for interacting with the public concerning the Plan; three deleted bylaw infractions which had apparently been cleared prior to the meeting; and finally it was noted that the Revitalization Tax Exemption Bylaw was up for final adoption.  This was not shown in the agenda available over the weekend.

This latter item, coming forward without even the minimal notice usually provided by the publication of Council meeting agendas on the Thursday afternoon preceding the relevant meeting, provides another example of Staff and Council’s apparent contempt for the opinion of the public in their expenditure of public money.  We may lament that our public seems apathetic.  They can be no other if they are also kept ignorant.  Read the rest of this entry »

Feb. 27 Council Meeting

In CITY FINANCE, CITY GOVERNMENT, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT on February 24, 2012 at 11:08 pm

By Ron Bolin:  Feb 24, 2012

The following items of general interest are on Monday’s Agenda:

  • A presentation on the Bowen Road/ Quarterway Bridge Improvement project;
  • A delegation on the newly minted Communication Officer position;
  • Advisory Committee on Environmental Sustainability’s 2012 Work Plan;
  • Grant’s Advisory Committees recommendation to provide $1,397.42 for an annual volunteer luncheon (I would not include this, but I wonder how many other volunteer luncheons might be forthcoming);
  • 2012-2016 Financial Plan Bylaw Amendment;
  • A report on the cost of acquiring the West Linley Valley land for a park;
  • Staff’s recommendation that, for accessibility reasons, all FPCOW meetings be moved to the Shaw Auditorium until the new Annex Building is completed; Read the rest of this entry »


Comments on Budget at the Feb. 13 Council Meeting

In CITY FINANCE, CITY GOVERNMENT, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT, QUESTIONS TO COUNCIL, STAFF on February 13, 2012 at 11:50 pm

Ron Bolin: Feb. 13, 2012

Mayor Ruttan and Councillors:

Before you pass three readings of the Financial Plan Bylaw tonight, thus filling that mold with cement which, though it may not be fully set until April, becomes harder to rework with each passing day, I would like to ask that you give more consideration to this plan and to the hardships which it may offer to many, if not most, citizens of Nanaimo.

For as long as memory serves me, Council has approved budget increases which have considerably exceeded the increase in the BC Consumer Price Index.  This year that increase is currently set at 3.8% for residential taxpayers, compared to a BC cost of living increase of 1.7%. Read the rest of this entry »

Council Meeting for Feb. 13, 2012

In CITY FINANCE, CITY GOVERNMENT, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT on February 10, 2012 at 11:48 pm

Ron Bolin: Feb. 10, 2012

The full agenda for this meeting can be found at:

http://www.nanaimo.ca/UploadedFilesPath/Site_Structure/Corporate_Services/Corporate_Administration/2012_Agendas/C120213A.pdf

At this meeting Council will be making a number of amendments to the Zoning Bylaw, some of which bring about substantial changes.  If unsure of how these changes might affect your neighbourhood, see the agenda.

It is also likely that Council will give the first three readings to “FINANCIAL PLAN BYLAW 2012 NO. 7144″.  This bylaw will set the following tax rate increases:

Tax Increase 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
    Blended 2.8% 2.1% 3.1% 3.4% 3.0%
    Residential 3.8% 2.7% 3.1% 3.4% 3.0%
    Commercial 2.8% 2.1% 3.1% 3.4% 3.0%
    Industrial -20.1% -16.5% 3.1% 3.4% 3.0%

There is also an annual increase of 5% to water fees and 6.14% ($7.00) to garbage/recycling fees in 2012, but no increases for sewer are proposed. Read the rest of this entry »

Thousands of Nanaimoites Vanish!

In CITY FINANCE, CITY GOVERNMENT, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT on February 9, 2012 at 12:37 pm

Ron Bolin: Feb. 9, 2012

Statistics Canada began the public release of 2011 population data yesterday (Wed. ,Feb. 9, 2012).  The data for Nanaimo showed a population for the city of 83,810, up from 78,692 in 2006, giving a growth rate of 6.5% over the five year inter-census period or about 1.26% per year.  This contrasts with the growth rate of 11.1% for the five years which is shown in the City’s Community Profile-2010 document which projected our 2011 population to be 87,464.  See:

http://www.nanaimo.ca/assets/Departments/Economic~Development/Why~Nanaimo/CommunityProfile.pdf

Read the rest of this entry »

The Other City Council Meeting

In CITY FINANCE, CITY GOVERNMENT, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT on February 3, 2012 at 10:49 pm

Ron Bolin: Feb. 3, 2012

Disguised as an innocuous committee meeting, the Finance and Policy Committee of the Whole (FPCOW) will meet on Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, in the Board Room at City Hall at 4:30 pm, as it does on most Mondays alternating with regular Council meetings.  This committee is made up of all members of Council and it differs from what is otherwise known as a Council meeting in two distinct areas:  first, no bylaws can be passed in a FPCOW meeting; second it is held in a small board room at City Hall, it is held at a time inconvenient to working  citizens and there are no intruding cameras to record the proceedings.  Read the rest of this entry »

Strategic Planning

In CITY GOVERNMENT, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT on February 3, 2012 at 1:52 pm

Gord Fuller: February 3, 2012

Council has recently set up a strategic planning steering committee to look at the direction Nanaimowill be going over the next few years.  This in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce ‘Successful Cities’ initiative as well as a group ‘Vision Nanaimo’; the latter of which held a community meeting prior to the election that drew almost 300 people.  It should be noted that this meeting was not broadly advertized and that the majority of those attending were members of the Chamber, Downtown Nanaimo Business Improvement Association (DNBIA), as well as those individuals, like me, already linked in to city happenings.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hotel Revitalization Tax Exemption Bylaw: My Take

In CITY FINANCE, CITY GOVERNMENT, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT on January 28, 2012 at 4:33 pm

Gord Fuller: January 28, 2012

There can be no doubt that this tax exemption bylaw only came forward as a result of our Mayor and some others strong beliefs that the only way to up usage at the convention centre would be to entice someone to build a hotel on land we would be willing to give them behind said centre. Initially in bringing forward the bylaw there was somewhat of an outcry from the Hospitality Association and this latest inception is designed to placate the association and bring them on board with the tax exemption. 

At council’s meeting on January 23rd these points were approved to be added to the above bylaw:

To include renovations to existing hotels and motels that achieves any one or more of the following:

• adds services

• adds rooms

• improves the quality of the stay for the visiting public; Read the rest of this entry »

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