Ahead of the Oct. 17 municipal election, CFJC Today asked candidates for Kamloops City Council to complete a questionnaire, offering voters the chance to evaluate their candidacies.
QUESTIONNAIRE:
Describe yourself, your professional background, and why you’re running for public office in Kamloops?
Having lived and worked in Kamloops since 1983, I’ve seen Kamloops evolve into a great community that has tremendous potential. Working in media for the past 35 years in Kamloops has allowed me to work alongside businesses that want to see Kamloops’ economic growth continue to develop. With my leadership skills and community life skills, having worked on many boards throughout my career, I have a broad sense of community needs. I feel the experience that I bring to the table as a municipal politician is that I comprehend the basics of economic budgeting, labour law, actuary tables and risk management. My years of working with in the business community have given me all these opportunities. This will and has proved over the past four years on council to be an asset when working with council and staff.
What do you think is the biggest issue facing the City of Kamloops and how would you use your elected position to address it?
Safety and security is still the biggest community concern. This file over the past four years has proven to be the most difficult concern for our community. I’d like to see council push hard with agencies to have BC Housing provide the housing that our community wants and needs. We saw some of this recently with the transitional housing opened by CMHA , as well the recent opening of Solace Shelter prioritizing the 55+ who are on the cusp of being unhoused. We need to continue to see programs like community courts here in Kamloops providing community protection from low level repeat offenders. I’d like to see more investment into recovery focused housing opening up the funnel in the housing continuum. As a community we can also lean into involuntary institutional care programs the provincial government is looking at. I’d like to see the provincial government step forward to assist small business owners with funding to assist in growing costs due to break-ins, glass or property damage. Council will need to stay focused and drive the community needs through BC Housing to provide.
Following a term highlighted by infighting and tension at city hall that impacted Kamloops’ public image, how would you ensure civil discourse and good governance would take place between yourself, fellow elected officials and city staff?
You generally get a group of well-meaning people at the table. Good intentions aren’t enough anymore. Building trusted relationships with colleagues and staff is paramount to civility. You need to learn how to deal with conflict in this environment. The other opportunity is to review and remember the Oath of Office that one takes when on council both in the Community Charter and Local Government Act. It states: I Will carry out my duties with integrity, be accountable for the decisions that I make and actions I take. I will be respectful of others. I will demonstrate leadership and collaboration. These attributes along with a willingness to learn with a positive attitude will benefit all.
Considering recent years of large municipal tax increases in Kamloops, how would you address the city’s tax rate going forward?
Taxation continues to be a significant concern for communities. Kamloops services through budgeting stands at 72 per cent. What that means is our budget for service provided stands at 72 per cent of service provided is paid for through taxation. This number can be reduced. I would like to see the city rethink its position on services provided via taxation. Let’s shift our think to the city looking more towards profit to reduce taxation. With the KCA coming online, it’s time for Kamloops to review its event ticketing process and have a percentage of all ticket sales to go to reducing taxation or building a reserve fund for future infrastructure builds. We also need to review our service contracts with neighbouring communities. Look at driving a profit with contracts to help reduce taxation. Also, it’s time we look at naming rights within Kamloops with all the new infrastructure builds and existing facilities. The millions of dollars we can generate will go a long way to reduce taxation. Innovative thinking we have an IT dept that can implement all these programs saving the taxpayer millions of dollars.
As major infrastructure projects are on the horizon in Kamloops, how would you prefer the city go about gaining the electorate’s approval – via referendum or the alternative approval process (AAP)? Why?
Referendum and AAP are both good for community. Both play a role in building a stronger healthier community. Both are democratic and approved by the provincial governments. Communities are looking more at AAPs to action building infrastructure quickly with a 30-60 window to vote against the AAP. Recently we have seen RCMP buildings in Prince George and Kelowna approve a significant build through the AAP process. Personally, I see each project needs to be reviewed by council and staff to determine the best avenue for community. Kamloops has used AAPs for various projects since 1962. In fact, the water treatment plant was approved through the AAP process.
What are your thoughts on communication between the City of Kamloops and its residents? Are there areas of improvement you’d like to see?
Yes, I see good grounds for communication improvements. It has become very difficult to clearly communicate through reliable media sources. However, we need to do a better job of community communication. I have heard many times to have called the city and did not get a call back. To fix this challenge our IT department will need to impress upon directors/leadership group that we need to move forward with advanced communication. We need to look at every call handled and every job booked as a motto. Through AI opportunities we can ensure to improve our community communications through our valued employees. Making sure all calls are handled and all job actions are booked and competed. One other challenge we have with communications is we are often reactive rather than proactive. When we need to communicate to community, we can find a positive approach as well as provide options. As for communications in council with community, I would like council to review the current process that has stopped “public submissions”.
