This is an update from the North Westside Provincial Restructure Planning Grant Standing Committee meeting that was held Friday, February 26.
The motion brought forward and unanimously voted in favor of by the committee members is:
The RDCO Board request the minister of municipal affairs & housing for funding and support to undertake a governance & services study for the north westside portion of Okanagan West electoral area and that the RDCO Board outline and suggest a scope of study to include the following three elements:
- To document and assess the current state of local governance and service delivery in the North Westside
- To understand the concerns and interests of North Westside residents with respect to governance and delivery
- To identify and assess future governance and service delivery options for the community
This motion will now be brought before the RDCO board for endorsement. Once endorsed, the RDCO board will then instruct staff to submit the recommendation & application for funding to the Ministry.
The requested governance study will address the following:
1. Current state of governance & services:
- Explain local government in BC, regional district model, provision of governance & services to electoral areas
- Explain the differences between electoral areas and municipalities-local governance, service provision, taxation, finance
- Document range of local government services provided in the North Westside-RDCO, province and others
- For each service, describe decision-making, costs, cost-allocation, cost-recovery
2. Community engagement – concerns and interests regarding governance & services:
- Do residents feel well-served by the current system?
- What are the key Governance and services concerns?
- Are decision-making structures appropriate given the size and other characteristics of the North Westside?
- Does the range of services provided make sense? Are there needs being left unaddressed?
- Can the current system of governance and service provision accommodate anticipated further needs and expectations?
3. Options for improvement:
Based largely on public input (input that is informed by assessment of current state)
A number of options could emerge:
- Incorporation
- Change in the number and size of Electoral areas
- Amalgamation
- Change to host Regional District
