Amalgamation of the three appears to be a topic no one is talking about B次元官网网址� except one North Saanich politician who feels the issue was never properly addressed.
Nor will it likely come up from the three municipalities at the Union of B.C. Municipalities conference in Vancouver Sept. 25 to 29.
Coun. Murray Weisenberger was prepared to debate getting the issue on the table with the provincial minister in charge at the UBCM during a North Saanich council meeting this week. But he says he withdrew his request after the rest of his council made it clear it was too late to get a meeting with NDP Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Selina Robinson.
That, and no one seemed too interested in the subject.
Putting aside his frustration over having his request delayed to a point where it was impossible to get it on the UBCM agenda, Weisenberger said he saw there was B次元官网网址渘o appetite for this council to move on this issue.B次元官网网址�
In November, 2014, a in that yearB次元官网网址檚 civic election, said yes, they wanted the province to fund a study into the costs B次元官网网址� and possibility of B次元官网网址� amalgamation on the Saanich Peninsula.
That study, requested at the time from the BC Liberals, has not materialized. And Weisenberger is not hopeful that the NDP minority government will seriously pursue it either.
The province, in March 2017, did release a Capital Integrated Services and Governance Initiative report. While that report did not get into amalgamation specifically, the province did say it would not force amalgamation on anyone.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 been a lack of leadership on this issue,B次元官网网址� Weisenberger said, adding the CISGI report B次元官网网址渄idnB次元官网网址檛 answer the questions the electorate wanted them to.B次元官网网址�
Weisenberger made it clear heB次元官网网址檚 not necessarily in favour of amalgamating all three Saanich Peninsula municipalities. He said a question was asked in the last civic election and was simply not answered. Even at the integration of services level, Weisenberger said his municipality is about to pay $150,000 for a communications study B次元官网网址� a cost that probably would be the same for a single city of 40,000 people. ThatB次元官网网址檚 approximately the size of an amalgamated community on the Peninsula.
Ryan Windsor, Mayor of Central Saanich, said the DistrictB次元官网网址檚 election question B次元官网网址渁sked for a study specifically addressing amalgamation of the three Peninsula municipalities, but as you know we did not get that.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭he new provincial government seems to have indicated that itB次元官网网址檚 not a priority, so short of doing our own study or asking the question about amalgamation with the , IB次元官网网址檓 not sure the issue is moving forward at this point.B次元官网网址�
Sidney Mayor Steve Price said B次元官网网址渢he amalgamation question was just recently addressed by the (CISGI) report released by the provincial government which showed that on the Peninsula, we already are heavily integrated in regards to water, sewer, recreation, police, library, to name a few.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淎s you know study after study has shown that amalgamation increases costs and reduces the level of service and local autonomy which is not what our residents have asked for.B次元官网网址�
Price added SidneyB次元官网网址檚 policing costs, if amalgamated with others in the region, would in all likelihood be substantially higher.
B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 believe our residents would appreciate that. We are not seeking any more studies on amalgamation, nor is the provincial government.B次元官网网址�
Price added he will be having a CRD mayors meeting at UBCM with the Solicitor General on the topic of and integration of specialized policing services.
The B次元官网网址 Review emailed all the Peninsula mayors for comment and had not immediately heard back from North Saanich Mayor Alice Finall.
B次元官网网址淚f this is going to be left up to local politicians, nothing is going to happen,B次元官网网址� Weisenberger said.
Weisenberger added people simply wanted information about what amalgamation might look like and what it would cost.
