One cheque, one source, one job
There’s nothing like a debate about city council pay to hear differing views and make taxpayers frisky. Despite their avowed objective to engage and consult constituents, most politicians usually don’t…
Fight city hall and win the day
Despite municipalities restricting taxpayers from codes of conduct Some local politicians lack trust and are terrified of the pesky public making complaints about councils under newly minted codes of conduct.…
Candy Cane Award landed by Langford
UPDATE ON LANGFORD: Langford council has made an amendment to the Draft Five-Year Financial Plan (p. 105) to update the document to ensure all budget documents are transparent and user-friendly.…
Proposed tax hike of 50% lethal
Spend almost $12 Million on Centennial Square upgrade or invest more to upgrade the dreadful city roads Editor’s Note: An earlier version of the story indicated costs of Centennial Square…
Toothless code of conduct
Victoria council’s new code of conduct is a good start but in light of recent events, the council may find it needs to go much further. Since incorporation in 1862…
Delays for minutes unreasonable
Council procedure bylaws need changes Municipal watchdog Grumpy Taxpayer$ is urging the City of Victoria to amend council procedure bylaws to ensure certified minutes are available to the public in…
FCM meal expense under fire
Why such a large South Island delegation? Langford taxpayers paid twice for FCM conference meals Langford residents wonder why they were double billed for council meals at the Federation of…
Restricting public complaints wrong-headed
We are pleased the CRD Governance Committee has deferred its discussion of the wobbly staff report Code of Conduct – Next Steps prior to it going to the full board.…
A bad case of collywobbles
Councils must cope with a bad case of collywobbles A commentary by Stan Bartlett, the vice-chair of Grumpy Taxpayer$ of Greater Victoria, a non-partisan citizens advocacy group for municipal taxpayers.…