Wednesday is Budget Decision Day For the Islands Trust.

I think we all know that it is a rather Extreme fait de compli that the Islands Trust will increase its budget for 2011 on Wednesday, yes, legally they are required to field opinions from the public and I applaud the Salt Spring Island Deligation for  making the inconvenient trek to Galiano to speak on taxpayer behalf. I sent a detailed written submission earlier to meet the deadline and have consolidated a few more thoughts below.

Of course the EXTREMISM here is the crazy wordsmithing the Islands Trust is doing this time around in calling it a "Reduction in Budget Increase". Hehe, a truly remarkable piece of double-speak that can only massage the least media savy minds in the community I am sure. Fact is, hidden and probably within a single overall vote is whether to give most Trustees a modest increase on the smaller islands (which I could go along with I suppose) yet we find a disturbing proposed 120% increase in salaries for our local Salt Spring Trustees from approx. $12,000 to $28,000. Nice huh? Who would not work for an employer with those kinds of lottery winning pay raises in the wings?  Well the silver lining here may be to bring every unemployed applicant near and far to run for the Trustee position in November! I say great, the more the merrier, maybe it will increase our odds that we get an actual democratically minded candidate to run and dissolve this ridiculous presumption of so-called  'local governance'! Yea right, I guess if you keep saying it, somehow a Trust becomes a government? Hardly!

Anyway, I wanted to share a consolidated viewpoint on this budget increase if only to put it into an alternate context to the double-speak we hear from the organization itself, and I certainly extend to all those going to Galiano Wednesday Mar. 11 my best wishes for a successful impact on the proceedings. Trust Council is a tad more attentive and responsive than our local Trust Commitee and there is always the CHANCE that the odd comment will trim a few cents off the general increase, afterall, the Trust just needs a headline like "Trusted Reduces Expected Tax Increase" for us all to remain cozy and happy paying yet another 6.4 million dollars for year 2011.. what is that? over $3000.00/hr. protectionist money from imaginary clear cutting homeowners currently raping our island? hmmm will have to consider that, I am sure it will increase my property's value! Geesh. Anyway I digress...

TO TRUST COUNCIL: YOUR BUDGET 2011
In my opinion your budget and salaries should not be increased at this time and another policy statement should probably be added to your ‘code of conduct’ book. Something to the effect that; Trustees should continually be mindful that taxes are collected to be spent specifically on community land planning issues and that it is a Trustees fiduciary responsibly to ensure this on behalf of taxpayers who fund and place their trust in this Trust.

To all Trustees I simply say this: review the Islands Trust Act, look at the parameters of your land planning function with a critical eye and then look at all the extracurricular activities and personal interests that so many of you presume to squander our taxes on. Know that your budget requirements have far outstripped any danger of development among these fair islands, especially in this economy. That your land planners are actually planning how not to use the land and that the peoples’ Trust has become increasingly anti-Trust.

I propose that if you work within your actual mandate, you will see that the workload and costs are not nearly as grandioise as you claim.

Our Island Driftwood honed in on a key point... "The Trust has not worked for the betterment of our island communities but rather as a scared symbol of humankind's battle to save the planet"

 

Although that was printed in the Driftwood 15 years ago it was as true in 1996 as it is today, with one caveat, your budget has grown 300% since then and that is not your tax payer supported mandate!

As a tax payer it is also my hope that you will reject the notion that our Salt Spring Island Trustees need an over 100% increase in salary, especially for any kind of chosen personal adventurism into areas outside their land planning committee duties. I am advised that there were only a small handfull of development permits entertained last year.

ON LOCAL GOVERNANCE:
On another issue…We have recently been hearing this often parroted notion that the Islands Trust has somehow made the intellectual leap from being a land planning trust to being some kind of broader island governance. I think you will agree that a Trust is not a government and visa versa, even in an unincorporated district. Trust Council in their own bylaw 42 specifically acknowledge that they are not a form of governance but rather that they have been legislated within Trust Act to work with governing bodies, communities and Municipalies. That is the only Trust we can Trust. So what’s changed?

Even when citizens give you feedback as they will on Wednesday, it seems more of a polite formality, one you are simply legally required to extend. In the end however, your members have to vote in the interests of the Trust itself, its policies and the Trust Act. Anything we say at variance with that will tend to be discounted. So where are our real options for change? There appear few, because in the end, The Islands Trust, while paradoxically made up of democratically elected Trustees is not beholden to the electorate who votes for it but rather its ideological principles. This is a huge problem when you attempt to put forth the notion that you are a local governance representing the people.

No matter how far and wide local Trust Commitees attempt to extend their reach into the wide swath of services required by a community, I suspect that only a bonified Municipality is duly authorized, under our current Provincial legislation, to collect and spend our taxes on such ‘other’ services. Trust Council should explore any tax dollar savings to be had by staying on point and on mandate.

Thank you.
Artist3d
Salt Spring Island