The Editor,
Re. "Province looks at big numbers at B.C. city halls" (BC Views, The Tri-City News, Oct. 1).
Notwithstanding some views that attempt to portray columnist Tom Fletcher as a nabob of negativity, I find it refreshing to see the bright light of journalism, coupled with some illuminating audited facts from a respected accounting firm, focus voters' attention on a real campaign issue for upcoming civic elections: bloated municipal bureaucracies.
I am not talking about the bloat of growing numbers of employees hired that outstrip population increases.
No, I am talking about a more insidious form of bloat caused by the negotiations that each municipality undertakes with its employees - and I include those that are not represented by unions. The bloat occurs when one sweetheart deal in one municipality causes a ripple effect as each subsequent municipality is forced to meet or beat the result. 'Round and 'round and 'round it goes until the perverse result is bloat.
Ernst and Young identified a 38% increase from 2001 to '12 compared to inflation of 23% over the same period. Then, of course, this sets the benchmark not only for provincial employees but other governments across Canada. Bloat begets bloat.
The NDP leader called the professional accounting report a "one-sided, politically motivated, shoddy work." There is no hidden agenda here. As Premier Christy Clark indicated, it should be on the agenda for the civic elections.
E.C. Eddy
Coquitlam
