The Green-Richter Slate Is Irresponsible

Talk on the street from the everyday Township citizen is that Mayor Rick Green and Councillor Kim Richter have been deemed by informed residents to be irresponsible. 

A Witch Hunt commenced at the direction of the Green-Richter slate. This Witch Hunt was named the Mayor's Standing Committee on Finance. Mayor Green ruled as Chair of this committee, with Cllr. Richter being appointed as Vice Chair by the mayor (sort of a King and Queen of the finance ball). 

After 10 weeks of work, this Finance Committee (with questionable qualifications) proposed nothing concrete that one could immediately implement to drastically impact the budget, taxes, nor produce any significant savings. The report is an absolute joke to anyone with prior business and budgeting experience. Any finance professional would be ashamed to put their name to it, especially when the conclusions don't align with the spreadsheets. We've checked with some reputable accountants that said they would never put their names to such political nonsense. 

Both Green and Richter have very clear fiduciary responsibilities to all the residents of the Township of Langley. Both have ignored the needs of the municipality, in favour of political posturing and rhetoric. Kim Richter has never voted to approve any Township budget, so it is no surprise that she would reject this one and cast the finger of blame squarely at her council colleagues. This is the same Kim Richter that spoke on council inauguration night about working together with these same colleagues. 

Shame on you Rick Green and Kim Richter for your reckless and irresponsible behaviour in council. As the picture well states, no single rain drop believes it is to blame for the flood. But your rhetoric is catching up with you and the lies are being dispelled weekly. Council did not abdicate their fiduciary responsibilities nor their concern for the long-term viability of this Township. Shame-shame on you two for being irresponsible with our finances.  

The Green Richter-Slate Can't Fool All of The People All of The Time

By Special Features Editor Reed Fraser

It was a bad week for the credibility of Township council’s minority of two, the Green-Richter team, and it started with 3rd reading of the 2009 budget, which contains a five per cent tax hike, with no speakers coming to the microphone at the 4 p.m. council meeting, one of the last opportunities for the public to complain about a tax hike that adds about $65 a year to the average homeowners tax bill.

An at the 7 p.m. session, only one person answered the call for submissions, a man who wondered whether or not a $50,000 ceramic tile item was listed in the right place under recreation. Not exactly the shit-fire storm Richter-Green would have had us all believe would blow up over this budget. But Green launched into his now familiar diatribe about the hard work of his self-appointed “standing committee on finance” three civilians one at least of whom helped run his election campaign.

Green praised the work of this threesome -- one of whom went off on vacation and submitted his ideas via email – as if their hard eight weeks on a steep learning curve required that the duly elected majority on council were obliged to adopt their rather mediocre ideas which included a less than one per cent tax hike, borrowing money from sewer and water funds to prop up general revenue, axing a hybrid vehicle program upon which Township carbon credits rely; and cutting almost $1 million from Township computer maintenance. No mention of the grant money the ToL got for hybrids and can continue to get to pay for the hybrid additions. No mention of Mayor Green himself heard boasting about the fuel performance and saving of his privately-owned hybrid. I guess he'd rather save money personally and not see the Township save anything?

Green seems to rely on the premise that if you say something often enough people will believe it, and both he and Richter have at least convinced themselves that staff raises, a new and expanding full-time fire force, extra police, recreation playing field maintenance and a myriad of other spirally costs can be met with the 0.93 tax hike. Other councilors weren’t buying it, and pointed out that such drastic cuts will gut all capital expenditure, put the Township into a $770,000 deficit in 2010, and run that figure up to $6.4 million by the end of the Five Year Financial Plan. Residents clearly want these services and are willing to pay for them.

Next, airport manager George Miller introduced David Kirk, a professional aviation industry appraiser, who told council lease rates at Langley Airport are very competitive with community airports around the province, and that if the airport starts charging rates to other industrial lands, no one will be using this airport. That ‘s another blow to the credibility of Richter and Green, who campaigned on issues that included airport lease rates being just 25 per cent of market rates. See the full presentation here.

And council released from in-camera a legal opinion obtained four years ago, which says the Township doesn’t have a leg to stand on in an argument, based on a 100 year old Inter Urban rail right of way bylaw, to make the railroad cease or reduce Roberts Bank freight through downtown Langley. Another Green position, that the trains can be rerouted, but the other members of council and senior staff just haven’t been trying hard enough for the past four or five years, shot to tatters. Read the full legal opinion here.

And in a final humiliation, what Green said during the election was one of the worst violations of private property rights he had ever witnessed, the rerouting of a creek in Willoughby, is apparently perfectly legitimate, according to another legal opinion released by council Monday. Green’s stance on this creek got him a stern warning of a pending law suit if an apology was not forthcoming, but the developer, now that Green is in the mayor’s chair, seems to have reconsidered. (It will be interesting to see how many landowners will see Green’s municipal revenue for upzoning their property, as a violation of property rights.)

Yes folks, it was a very humiliating week for the slate, but don't expect to see these details on the other blog, nor reported in such details in your local news. But the facts are here and clear on the Langley Record for you.

This week's revelations are unlikely to fluster the absolute arrogance of Mayor Green or the obstinate smarter than thou attitude of Councillor Richter, but as Abe Lincoln said, "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some times, but you can’t fool all the people all the time."

Twisting It

It is very interesting and very predictable that Councillor Kim Richter's website would blame the 5% property tax increase on the rest of council. This after Richter has ordered off the menu many times over and then always votes against budgets in the Township.

BUT, there is another perspective on this budget that one should consider. A Motion for the 5% increase was on the council table for first to third reading. Councillor Charlie Fox proposed an amendment to the Motion to set the increase at 3.95%. Both Councillor Richter and Mayor Green voted against the 3.95% amendment. Therefore, Green and Richter voted for the 5% tax increase. Now they try to lay blame as they said they would.

ONE member of the public spoke during the open microphone and it was related to why a $50K floor tile project came under the parks & rec budget. That's it.

Stay tuned as Special Features Editor Reed Fraser exposes the madness, and significant blows to the credibility of the Green/Richter slate based on campaign statements and recent events. You won't want to miss this one!

Something to Chuckle About

We found this article by The Langley Times on the internet. We can only assume that Sonya Paterson agreed with this assessment during the last election. It indicates that Councillor Kim Richter agrees with her council colleagues and also may be in the process of becoming a BC Liberal:

"I was somewhat surprised at how incumbent Kim Richter seemed to be on the same page with many of her council colleagues at the meeting. Throughout her nine years on council, Richter has often been a voice in the wilderness, decrying the decision of the majority.

I was equally surprised to see Richter and her husband Bob at the Rich Coleman BC Liberal fundraiser on Thursday. Richter is a former NDP member who ran for the federal Liberals in 2004, but to the best of my knowledge has never been active with the BC Liberals. Her attendance at the Coleman dinner indicates that she may be moving more to the right."

Green and Richter Buckle Under Pressure

Monday night's Township Council meeting went as we had blogged. The Green & Richter slate trying to uphold a mere .93% tax increase, with Green's rants of how things could be done differently. No mention of the slim report after 10 weeks of public and secret meetings. No mention of the lack of numbers to support their .93%. It all flies in the face of reality and what a SPIN it is! They had no concrete answers to council questions and this time Green could not defer to staff. What a shame. We think council should have unanimously voted for .93% and then watch as Green & Richter fall flat on their faces. What a sight that would have been, except these councillors care about the ToL and the slate very clearly does not. 

The Langley Times did not disappoint the slate, claiming that the 5% tax increase had nothing to do with municipal funding realities and more about Township residents wanting services and willing to pay for them. The editor's article seems to slam the council members who voted for the increase, makes Green and Richter out to be heros, and then talks of what ToL residents want and expect. Now just how to all those worlds collide Frank? Wow, that is a far stretch indeed.

We also have now confirmed that the other blog has published blatant lies and continues to keep them posted. These accuse some people of living off the "public teat", and that is 100% false. For several years now, Jordan Bateman has been self-employed and continues to develop a very productive business. His campaign finances have been out there for all to see, and there was never any raffle.  

The Real Public Teat

Perhaps rants about the public teat and the other energies of the slate should now be focused on a certain Murrayville B & B that leased their land from the ToL for 99 years at $1? Let's do as with the airport leases and re-open this sweetheart deal and hike the rate up, shall we? Someone needs to investigate how this lease has been allowed to continue. Let's crack the books open on this land lease now!