Regional solutions

An on-going feature on land use & planning - to alert, inform, and prompt community action - and to celebrate success!

The January 2013 James Bay Neighbourhood Association (JBNA) meeting focused on the concept of Southern Vancouver Island as a single governance region, as opposed to the separate cities and municipalities that now exist.

Victoria Police Chief Constable Jamie Graham started the evening off with his campaign to make creation of a regional police force a priority in the next provincial election. His presentation discussed the challenges of policing a core city within twelve other rapidly growing municipalities, an overall population of some 350,000.  Victoria's population base of just over 80,000 can dramatically surge for special events. While even a regular long weekend can double the population, a major event with up to 250,000 attendees puts a very real strain on police resources. Demonstrations and protests by citizens, usually aimed at the Provincial Government, are also the responsibility of VicPD.

Did you know that our 245-member VicPD has the one of the highest case-load per officer workloads in Canada?

Graham has suggested a business case for a region-wide police force of 400 officers, allowing for realization of economies of scale in staffing and equipment purchases. A regional police force could release some officers from fulltime patrol duties to implement targeting teams to pursue habitual criminals or to respond more quickly to emergency situations.

Although Graham sees a region-wide police force as the ultimate goal, a regional communications centre is a possible interim regional solution. 

The recently published provincial Oppal Report notes that the Lower Mainland and the Capital Region are the only two remaining metropolitan regions in Canada with a patchwork of municipal police forces. It recommends correcting that situation. The mayor of Vancouver and the mayors of Victoria and Esquimalt support the concept of making regional police forces for the Lower Mainland and the Capital Region a priority in the next provincial election. 

Graham was accompanied by VicPD board member Roy Cullen, a provincial appointee to the board. Cullen noted that regional policing amalgamation is a question of political will, citing the recent provincial demonstration of power to keep Esquimalt and Victoria under a combined police force. As amalgamation of police services has often been a precursor for community amalgamation, the subject tends to be approached with some trepidation by outlying areas. Locally, some municipalities want to see the efficiencies and cost savings of a combined Victoria/Esquimalt force clearly demonstrated before they give up their contracts for service with the RCMP.

John Vickers of Amalgamation Victoria followed Grahams' presentation with a broader discussion of political amalgamation for the Capital Region.

Vickers cited the example of Halifax, another provincial capital, which was amalgamated in the 1990's. In Halifax, amalgamation has allowed one mayor and 16 councillors to govern a population of 390,000 (22,940 voters per elected official). This is compared with the 13 mayors and 79 councillors providing an expensive (albeit personalized) service to the 350,000 residents of the Capital Regional District (3,800 voters per elected official). 

Vickers also made the point that taxpayers should get value for tax dollars, not only from elected officials, but also from the governing infrastructures which support each regional government and school district. 

Budget Focus

January's speakers follow other expressions of concern about local government living within taxpayers' means. Victoria Councillor Lisa Helps introduced Citizens' Budget Workshops in Fall 2012 looking for discussion and input from Victorians on potential budget tightening measures, prior to a belt-tightening discussion of the budget by Victoria council. 

Council introduced a 3-year budgeting cycle (2013-2015) and froze property tax increases at 3.25% per year over the 3-year cycle. To meet these goals Council will have to reduce spending by at least $6 million over the next 3 years. 

Readers can participate in an on-line budget survey at http://www.victoria.ca/EN/meta/news/news-archives/2012-archive/join-the-city-for-budget-conversations.html

Or you can imagine what might ultimately be required by reading Gene Miller's laser-like focus on the problem in his article "Can Victoria Afford Itself?" in the December 2012 issue of Focus Magazine.

Policing costs make up a significant portion of current municipal budgets and we may have to get used to the concept of 'doing more with less'. The challenge will be to ensure that cost cutting measures leading to reduced services do not ultimately cost more than the up-front savings.

Join Us in February

James Bay Neighbourhood Association monthly meeting

Wednesday, February 13^th, 2013

James Bay New Horizons - 234 Menzies Street, 7 p.m. -  9 p.m.,

World Monument Fund Symposium: Harbouring Tourism

Dr. Brian Scarfe has been invited to speak at an international conference focused on cruise ships in historic ports  (http://www.wmf.org/event/harboring-tourism). 

His presentation on Victoria's cruise-ship experience to the gathering in Charleston, South Carolina, and the experiences of the residents of other historic port cities, will highlight the February 2013 JBNA general meeting.

The Victoria Accord

Tim Van Alstine and Tom Coyle will discuss the Victoria Accord, an important agreement between the City and the province concerning development guidelines for provincial properties in James Bay.

The province recently announced that provincial lands (including the parking lot at Menzies and Michigan and other James Bay properties) could be sold for development. Knowledge of the 1993 Victoria Accord has gained new and vital importance. As development plans go forward, residents should be aware and involved to ensure that the interests of the community, as included in the Accord, are upheld.

Board of Directors

If you are interested in serving on the Board please contact a member of the JBNA Board prior to the AGM on April 10^th.