VILLAGE REPORT – JANUARY 2012
By now you should all have received your green utility bills. If you have not, please contact the village office. This year the deadline for receiving a discount has been extended to the end of February. The office can now accept payment by debit card, if you prefer to pay that way. Dog & Business Licences are also due for renewal before the end of January. The prices for these have not increased for several years.
Applications for CBT Community Initiatives are available at the Village office or on the RDCK website. The deadline for receiving these applications is 4:30 p.m. on March 5th, 2012. The date for “Dot Night” will be announced shortly.
Currently, the public works crew clears the downtown sidewalks starting at 4:00 a.m. after it snows. This is done as a courtesy to our residents – it is actually the responsibility of each owner to clear the sidewalks in front of their property. In the Village Centre zone, sidewalks must be cleared by 10:00 a.m. and within all other zones the snow must be cleared within 24 hours. Council may review the crew’s involvement if it appears that possible liability issues will impact everyone’s taxes.
The Village is currently upgrading its SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) electronic system which controls the water wells. We apologize for any inconveniences this may be causing to residents. We hope to have this work completed shortly.
The Village has four councillors and a mayor. Each of the councillors receives an annual remuneration of $4615 and the mayor receives $8108 (these are adjusted each year by the consumer price index). One third of this remuneration is considered reimbursement for expenses incurred (such as office supplies, e-mail accounts, appropriate attire, etc.); the remaining two thirds is classed as payroll & taxed as such. Each councillor is expected to attend two council meetings each month, and to take responsibility for one or two portfolios. They are also expected to familiarize themselves with Village bylaws and the Community Charter.
On top of their remuneration, the council is paid a stipend of $100.00 per day should they attend meetings or conferences on behalf of the Village, and they are reimbursed for their travel and meal expenses at the current Provincial rate.
Disappointingly, at the last election we had only enough applicants to fill the council positions. Without the stipends, anyone taking a day off from work to attend conferences or workshops might be financially unable to do so. This may mean that only retirees or the unemployed could afford to be on our council. We would wish for a better way to represent the vibrant diverse community that Salmo is becoming. We are pleased that our new council has a mix of generations, with new ideas and hard-won experience being melded together to create an exciting vision for our Village.
Council is currently having strategy meetings to determine the direction it will take for the next three years; and are also looking for any and all ideas which might be implemented to make KP Park a more welcoming and accessible venue for all. Please write to Mayor and Council if you have suggestions you would like to have considered.