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LETTER: Low approval for Penticton mayor and council

The approval rating of mayor and the council members is so low and their credibility so tarnished.

Last July 2015, I seem to remember the mayor stating that it was too expensive to have a referendum regarding the leasing of a section of Skaha Lake Park to the Trio Marine Group.

Two months later, however, the mayor and council found sufficient funds to attended the B.C. Municipalities Conference in Vancouver.

It will be interesting to see if they vote themselves another $30,000 jaunt to the Pan Pacific Hotel for this months conference. Surely hotel and plane reservations have been made by now, but maybe that’s another closely held secret.

Since Coun. Max Picton does not have the spare time available to read local news, it follows that he would not have sufficient time to attend the four day conference.  By his own admission he is short of time. He should stay behind, tend to his busy schedule and save the taxpayers $4,500.

The approval rating of mayor and the council members is so low, and their credibility so tarnished, that the hiring of a communication officer will do little to improve their image.

Trust, confidence and respect is very difficult to re-attain once lost.  Voters will have a long memory and many questions to ask come re-election time. Their record of ignoring the public, secret deals and voting themselves health and travel benefits has not gone unnoticed.

C. Otto Knaak

Penticton