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Year In Review: Penticton council trudges on after going down 2 seats

A look back on some of the biggest stories of 2024
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Penticton City Hall. (Western News - File)

Penticton City Council didn't let the exit of two members slow it down in 2024. 

After taking a leave of absence at the start of October for the campaign season, Amelia Boultbee was elected MLA as part of the B.C. Conservative Party.

Boultbee was later named to the Conservative's shadow cabinet as shadow minister of children and family development. 

A by-election to fill her now empty spot is scheduled to take place in the spring, as the next municipal election isn't due until October 2026.

The lengthier absence at the council table, which is also still ongoing, belongs to Coun. James Miller, due to his criminal proceedings in Ontario. 

Miller was charged in August by the Sarnia Police Service as a result of an investigation into allegations of historic sexual crimes committed when Miller was a youth sports coach in the 1980s and 1990s. 

He was arrested on the Canada-wide warrant and released on bail, while the city placed him on mandatory leave under the Community Charter. 

According to an article from the Okanagan Newspaper Group on the charges, he was placed on administrative desk duties at the Penticton Herald. The Herald is one of the group's papers. 

In November, further charges were brought forward by the Sarnia Police Service, and he now faces 11 total counts, with seven counts of sexual interference and three counts of invitation to sexual touching alongside the sexual assault. 

The additional charges came after additional victims were identified by police during their ongoing investigations. 

None of the charges have been proven in court, and no plea has been entered yet by Miller, according to the most recent information from Sarnia.

Even down two members, city council carried on, dealing with major development proposals such as a twin-rink and housing project on Timmins Street, a community clinic that would offer walk-in services while bringing in three new doctors to the city, and shaving off expenses to settle on a 7.8 per cent tax rate increase for 2025's budget. 



Brennan Phillips

About the Author: Brennan Phillips

Brennan was raised in the Okanagan and is thankful every day that he gets to live and work in one of the most beautiful places in Canada.
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