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Two and Out

PETERS: Mayor’s accountability push is more than a little rich

Jun 20, 2025 | 12:30 PM

ACCOUNTABILITY.

That’s what Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson is all about. Or at least, that’s his favourite word.

In that spirit, the mayor will push a motion at council next week calling for a full independent forensic audit of city departments and management practices.

He says his motion “comes in response to growing concerns from residents regarding rapidly increasing property taxes and the need for greater transparency at City Hall.”

The former is certainly true — people are very concerned about their tax bills.

Most, however, understand that the cost of everything is going up, including the compensation negotiated for unionized employees and RCMP members. While executive compensation can’t be ignored, it pales in comparison to costs associated with raises for those employee groups.

That’s not to mention the cost of construction and maintenance materials, which has gone through the roof in recent years.

One million dollars to pay for Hamer-Jackson damage control, by the way, is also showing up on all of our tax bills.

It’s not that hard to understand.

The mayor’s call for accountability is a little rich, to be honest.

This is the same mayor who has refused to accept or even participate in a growing list of accountability measures taken because of his own actions.

The latest example? He didn’t even show up to a meeting in Kamloops with Municipal Affairs Minister Ravi Kahlon, saying he didn’t want the meeting to be behind closed doors, a ridiculous excuse.

Any outside person calling for accountability on his part is accused of being biased — an accusation almost certain to come my way in a barrage of unsolicited text messages as soon as this piece is published.

Reviews happen all the time, but an independent audit of city hall is a powder keg that could blow up any last semblance of working relationship between the mayor, council and city staff.

But the mayor’s best-case scenario is that the motion doesn’t pass and he can use the failed effort as a cudgel to flog the councillors for their apparent avoidance of accountability.

The worst-case scenario for Hamer-Jackson is that the motion is passed, an audit is undertaken and it finds the biggest impediment to transparency and the most egregious waster of tax dollars at city hall is looking him in the mirror.

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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.