Image credit: Transition Kamloops

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Council should have remembered the Wealthy Barber’s advice

Feb 21, 2024 | 5:55 AM

FORMER CITY COUNCILLOR Arjun Singh must have been sitting on the edge of his seat Tuesday as the current council considered ways to reduce an expected budget increase for this year.

The council decided to cut an annual levy for climate action measures in half, from .35 per cent to .175 per cent for 2024 and take another look at it next year.

The levy is designed to help mitigate against climate change, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions with appropriate technology in City buildings and vehicles.

Singh, when he was on council, fought long and hard for that levy. He led an effort to align City policies with the international goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, and to adopt a community climate action plan. He was appointed to B.C.’s Climate Solutions Council.

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Two years ago, City council approved the annual levy to support the community climate action plan. Everybody on the council voted for it except councillors Mike O’Reilly and Bill Sarai.

Both voted in favour yesterday of slicing the climate action levy in half.

The environment is easy to sacrifice when politicians are looking for places to cut spending. In Coun. Katie Neustaeter’s view, a choice had to be made, and a miniscule savings trumped the climate issue. “We can’t do everything at once,” she said.

So, the choice was to save taxpayers what probably amounts to a couple of cups of coffee. There was even talk of changing the climate action levy into an active transportation levy.

There’s no greater challenge facing the world, including Kamloops, than climate change. Council forgot yesterday some 20-year-old advice from financial planner David Chilton, known as the Wealthy Barber, who told us to “pay ourselves first” by saving 10 per cent of our paycheques for the future.

As a disappointed Singh told me after the vote, bringing down emissions to prevent extreme weather from getting any worse “really can’t wait.”

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.