Questions on business and finance took centre stage as Kamloops’ council and mayoral candidates made one of their final joint appearances of the campaign season on Wednesday, Nov. 12, at a meeting of the Central Interior chapter of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association.
Candidates fielded questions on the proposed Ajax mine, term limits for councillors and changes to the B.C. Building Code, but the subject of city spending remained one of the even’s most constant themes.
Asked how they would attract more business to the city, candidates pitched a number of ideas to homebuilders.
Mike O’Reilly repeated his call for a new industrial park in the city’s southwest, based on a model similar to the Dalhousie Drive area.
Donovan Cavers pledged to see the city’s commercial business tax rate lowered from $14 per $1,000 of assessed value to an amount closer to the $8 per $1,000 charged in Kelowna.
“We wonder why they have a much easier time attracting biz to the Okanagan — and that’s why,” he said.
Nelly Dever said her project to improve the city’s gateways, beginning with the Tranquille Road corridor near the airport, will help bring business to the city.
“Developers understand the importance of first impressions in attracting business,” she said.
Another group of candidates pitched their ideas for cutting city spending in response to a question about how they would exercise fiscal restraint at city hall.
Arjun Singh said he wants to see GPS devices installed on city vehicles to ensure the fleet is using gas efficiently and to cut down on unnecessary wear and tear.
Andy Philpot said the city needs to know the full cost of projects going in, so expensive “surprises” —such as the millions of dollars needed to fix the Overlanders Bridge sidewalk — don’t turn up midway through the process.
Tina Lange said council needs to have the political will to ask staff to look at its employee numbers.
“If we want to reduce taxes, we have to have the strength to say to our staff, ‘Cut labour by this per cent,’” she said.
Glenn Hilke criticized the city for spending $180,000 per year on anti-graffiti measures instead of creating a “safe space” for graffiti or talking with those who tag.
He also said the $50,000 the city spends removing homeless encampments is wasted money.
“Where the hell do they go when you remove their homes?” he asked.
“They just go to another spot.”
Alexandra Proctor said she would “actually engage with the city” to look for cost-saving measures.
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