Being elected as the Kamloops representative to the SILGA board, Southern Interior Local Government Association. We represent 38 small medium communities, including districts and villages. The idea of our communities always being hit with the cost of fighting the events or hosting ground crews and evacuation centers. In my opinion we are always left with some sort of expenditure that wasn’t covered. The province and feds need to be more proactive than reactive in these all too familiar recurring events. I truly believe that having a non union outfit come in and do major paving and line painting could be brought in house. On the other hand, if our staff do not have the very expensive equipment, and the outfits are unionized, that would have to be a future discussion. I believe we are at a stage in size of growth in area and population, we should invest in the equipment for big savings in the long run.
I do not believe we need to raise taxes for improvement in infrastructure and road and sidewalk improvements. Just put them at a higher priority than they currently are set at. If you are talking about “New” infrastructure, that’s a whole new conversation. I take great pride in our staff seeking out and being successful at grant funding before I support a stand alone project with tax implications.