Questions Raised About TOL Mayor's Standing Committees

As we have previously blogged, Township Council has serious questions about the need for more committees and commissions in the TOL. The latest Langley Times article covers this debate here. As you will see from the agenda we will post tomorrow, this matter does not appear on the council's agenda and we therefore assume that Mayor Green still has no Terms of Reference (ToR) for his proposal now that we are entering February already! One would think that as the mayor had this plan in mind throughout his campaign he would have already had a ready written ToR many, many months ago. This appears to be yet another item that was presented in the campaign and which Mayor Green had absolutely no detailed plan to implement it.

Most of council feel this is simply a duplication of the structure that already exists and with a proper work plan for the existing structure, the same could be acommplished at a significant cost reduction to taxpayers. Why is Mayor Green so insistent on these duplicate committees? Does he simply have more friends and insiders that he wishes to inject into the Township?

Its not often that we agree with Councillor Richter, but in this case her statements are very much echoed by her collegues on council. Counsellors Steve Ferguson and Mel Kositsky have also been very vocal on this subject. 

“Why do we need an economic development task force?” asked Councillor Kim Richter.

Richter suggested that the work plan of the existing Economic Development (select) Committee could be changed to accomplish what Green proposes for his new economic task force.

Green said that a task force would be more project focused, possibly looking at industrial space, and industrial/commercial/residential base, over a period of up to six to eight months, as opposed to the committee’s ongoing role.

The existing committees are established under a bylaw, and the mayor does not have the authority to suspend them, said Councillor Mel Kositsky.

These committees have however been asked to suspend any substantive work, said administrator Mark Bakken, while the complexities of the mayor’s proposals for standing committees are worked out.

Kositsky said he is concerned about the volunteer members of the community who currently serve or have replied to advertisements to serve on the committees."

Councillor Steve Ferguson keeps having to remind the rookie mayor that democracy must prevail and if you profess to be a campion of open and transparent government, then you shouldn't create various committees filled with friends and insiders and given secret mandates from the mayor. Coun. Ferguson is very good at these reminders because he makes his appeals in a very civil manner as a "student of democracy". Ferguson really is a student of democracy in his interactions with Township Council for sure. The rookie mayor could get some valuable lessons from Councillors Ferguson, Kositsky and others.

Kositsky said that volunteers “who have a life,” need to know what is happening with the committees, so they can plan ahead for meetings.

Green said he is not planning to change or “subvert” anything by creating an economic task force or safety policing committee, but he sees the select and standing committees as having two different purposes.

“Council always works better when we do it together,” said Councillor Steve Ferguson, who suggested a council workshop or retreat to find out more about Green’s vision, and for Green to get oriented to what council and the committees are doing or have done.

Township Set to Lose Golden Opportunity Under Mayor Green

With budget cuts in the Township of Langley set to impact all residents in order to maintain his campaign promise of a zero-based budget (no property tax increase for 3 years), is Mayor Green setting this Township up for long-term failure and deterioration?

The mayor's finance committee has been pouring over the budget for things that could be cut. All department directors have been asked to bring forth lean budgets that will allow various proposed projects to drop off the list. Even the Langley RCMP has dropped some new initiatives off the list of funded projects for 2009. Does the taxpayer understand that zero-based budgets in other communities have simply meant that various projects that should be tackled this year will simply be deferred in order for us to realize no property taxes? Do that understand that at a future date these projects will have to be accomplished to combat crumbling infrastructure?

Are all of these infrastructure project deferrals really wise in our Township as the federal government is announcing a massive availability of funds for municipalities who can contribute towards the projects?  This could be the single most important opportunity for our community to get the much-needed infrastructure that will serve ourt projected growth from 100,000 people to almost 200,000 over the next 10-15 years. We may never see a federal program anywhere near the size of this in our lifetime. 

Of course, Mayor Green could seek to borrow this money and put the TOL into debt to cover this project fund-matching, thereby creating a zero-based budget in theory only. Will we as a growing community reject the goose that lays the golden eggs or will we get goosed for going Green? 

HOT NEWS - Vancouver Watchdog Warns City

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

A kind reader in the know provided these supporting documents explaining how leased lands are over-valued in the City of Vancouver's Property Endowment Fund. 

Document 1

Document 2

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UNDER WHO'S WATCH DID THIS OVER-VALUATION HAPPEN ?

Vancouver watchdog citizen Robert Renger is doing the same thing that The Langley Record is doing in warning taxpayers of the Township of Langley to approach with caution Mayor Rick Green's suggestions of a Property Endowment Fund fashioned after the City of Vancouver. 

In an article appearing in today's issue of Straight.com, Renger's letter to the City of Vancouver dated January 18, 2009 is published:

Renger's e-mail to the mayor, council, and the city manager: 

From: ROBERT RENGER
Date: Sunday, January 18, 2009 11:01 pm
Subject: Property Endowment Fund overvaluation
To: mayorandcouncil@vancouver.ca,penny.ballem@vancouver.ca
 
To the City Manager, Mayor and Council,  

I want to thank you for becoming transparent and forthright with the public (and especially the City's taxpayers) regarding Olympic Village issues. 

Hopefully you will now follow this same approach with respect to the value of the City’s Property Endowment Fund. I am certain that an independent evaluation would find that it is worth significantly less than the $2.7 billion claimed in the City’s Financial Statements. 

It seems clear to me that the value of the PEF has been systematically overstated for many years, by the way in which overvalued leased lands (including lands that the City has leased out for long prepaid terms) are included as PEF assets. There are details and examples in the attached documents which I wrote several years ago (and to which I received no substantive responses).  

On November 11, 2008, I sent this same material to Ken Bayne, your General Manager of Business Planning and Services, after I heard him on the radio saying “Vancouver's Property Endowment Fund is still worth two or two and a half billion dollars in real estate”. In my email I asked him the following question: 

"Can you tell me how much of the Fund’s $2.5 billion in land assets is land for which the City has sold prepaid leases, and whether or not you think that land’s value as a City asset has been overstated?" 

He hasn't answered or even acknowledged my email. 

I expect that at some point (even if City Hall tries to ignore the issue) it is going to become publicly evident that: 

(1) the City has been greatly overstating the value of PEF land assets, and that 

(2) its actual assets are mostly not very liquid. 

In the meantime, I am concerned that bad information leads to bad decisions. So I hope you will address this issue proactively, without delay. 

I would appreciate being informed of your intentions. 

sincerely, 
Robert Renger 

This article also states, "Renger has claimed that the city has "systematically overstated" the value of the Property Endowment Fund for many years by overvaluing leased lands. He believes that an independent evaluation would reveal this."

It will be interesting to learn if these allegations are correct, and just how long this overstating of value has gone on in the City of Vancouver. Also of interest to the taxpayers of the Township will be to see under which City of Vancouver Real Estate Manager(s) this occured, if the allegations are found to be true. Stay tuned folks!

Mayor Green Hires Olympic Village Bureaucrat

The Langley Record's Exclusive Expose'

Recently rookie Mayor Rick Green announced in the newspaper (and our blog) that he had hired on a consultant for the Township of Langley to investigate the possibility of establishing a real estate trust and examine the viability of such a plan during this economic downturn.

This hiring did not require council approval or pre-knowledge, and therefore was not made public until the newspaper announcement by Mayor Green.

Most municipalities in greater Vancouver are being very cautious with their real estate dealings and development after the City of Vancouver announced that the ongoing development of the Olympic Village Project, interchangeably referred to as “Southeast False Creek project” recently ran into funding issues that could cost Vancouver taxpayers over a BILLION dollars to bail out, should other funding sources not materialize.

However Mayor Green announced that the Township has hired Mr. Bruce Maitland, “…co-parent of the city’s Southeast False Creek project” (as the Vancouver Sun called him here) as a paid consultant to the Township. You can see from there articles here, here and here that Mr. Maitland was a key stakeholder in Vancouver’s now-troubled Olympic Village project.

The taxpayers of Langley must, in the interest of the principles of openness, transparency, accountability and full disclosure, be informed that Mayor Green’s election team broadcast e-mailed this Endorsement Letter written by new Township consultant Bruce Maitland, to many businesspeople and residents of the Township of Langley, ahead of the November 2008 election. In fact that endorsement was the first any member of the Editorial Board had heard of Mr. Maitland who lives in Willoughby and we think has been given the job of making big bucks off Langley’s land portfolio to pay for the Mayor’s poorly planned 0% tax freeze.

We say think because it seems very unclear to Township Council and the taxpayers as to just how much this consultant will cost the taxpayers and what the EXACT outcome or deliverables Mayor Green plans for us to get from this spending. Councillor Mel Kositsky recently tried to nail down the exact cost of this consulting engagement to the taxpayers at a Council meeting, but the mayor remained very tight-lipped about the details of this contract. So much for openness and transparency.

The only response from Township Hall has been that as this consulting contract was for 20-40 hours of time, therefore no prior council discussion or vote was required. We know Mayor Raging Bull loves to swing the power of his office around kind of like Sam Sullivan used to do in Vancouver. He has done so again by announcing the Maitland contract. Councillor Kositsky, a longtime advocate of proper public process, again tried to query just how much this 20-40 hours is costing us, to which there was no official or public response from Mayor Green.

Mayor Raging Bull, upset by the questions, in fact replied by listing Mr. Maitland’s credentials which sounded good on the surface. Interesting the supposedly transparent Mayor neglected to mention the Olympic Village deal or Mr. Maitland’s election endorsement.

Mr. Maitland is beside the point here. He may be an excellent bureaucrat and he may be the best in his field. We will never have that confidence because we have a rookie mayor who promised transparency and has been showing anything but. His finance committee is stocked with his friends and insiders. He has now overseen and announced the hiring of a consultant who endorsed him in the last election. This is not good government or good business for that matter.

For the loyal blog readers out there, you will note that it is not very often that the Langley Record’s Editorial Board agrees with blog regular posters “Willy Nilly” and “Horny Toad”. But in this instance we must agree with these two that the Township of Langley must exercise an abundance of caution with regards to real estate deals within the Township. Some recent blog posts from these two prolific commentators:

“Regardless of whether the economy went in the dumper or not the MAIN reason for the Olympic village fiasco is due to BAD BUSINESS PRACTICES. Its like putting all your money in the stock market and blaming the market when you loose. It was a gamble and the City of Vancouver lost. Good article in the Sun the other day on WHY cities should stick to what they are supposed to do and stay away from property development. There is a reason WHY property developers make a lot of money (usually) and that is because they know what they are doing.
Good lesson to all cities.”

Horny Toad | 01.16.09 - 5:44 pm


"they will sell for good money after the winter Olympics, and Vancouver (and the Province) will recover the investment costs".

“I see you're into clairvoyance now Boomer. I hope you're right, but unfortunately NOBODY knows and if they say things, as you did, it only means hopeful wishing. There is NO basis for your conclusion. I have been following most of the senior economists and they have differing opinions, and admit to not knowing. So, I wonder how you're able to predict that.

The US thought their real estate had to have hit the bottom 6 months ago, well, guess what, its still falling and they predict the worst is yet to come. Heck, if we can go down South and buy luxury condo's, townhouses, homes, for $100.000.00 in areas where there is no winter, why would anyone buy our condos?
We have major competition now in the Real Estate market, and our biggest buyers were from the US and Asia. Well, the US is not buying now and I have just learned that prices are falling in China, so that is probably going to be lost as well.”

willynilly | 01.16.09 - 10:15 pm


The Langley Record Editorial Board Comments:

Horny Toad believes the City of Vancouver exercised “bad business practices” with their Olympic Village/Southeast False Creek land deal. He believes land deals like this are a “gamble” with taxpayer’s assets at best and “the City of Vancouver lost.”

Willy Nilly opines this Olympic Village/Southeast False Creek land deal was nothing more than “hopeful wishing” and that real estate prices are still going to hell in a hand basket each and every day and the experts “predict the worse is yet to come” as Willy Nilly points out.

What will Green apologists such as Horny Toad and Willy Nilly say now? One of the “co-parents” of this Vancouver Mega Project gone sour, has been given the deed to Langley’s landbase by their Mayor Green.

Time for the rookie Mayor to come clean with the voters. We trust that the next Mayor’s Report will include the full details, terms of reference and costs of this consulting engagement and that he will come clean with his credentials and the fact he endorsed the Mayor. The local papers should also look through their parent company’s archives and report this matter. Our transparent Mayor must be held to account on this issue.

Other Related Reference Articles to Vancouver's Current Olympic Village Crisis:

Olyblog
OlyBlog
UPI
Vancouver Sun
Globe and Mail
Boston.com
Washington Post
Bloomberg

So What Does Mayor Fassbender Think?

The Editorial Board was having its regular coffee meeting this morning and reviewing various statements that have been repeated by our rookie mayor, Rick Green. One such repeated statement has been a soundbite regarding heavy rail traffic going through the "heart of our community".

If one reviews this rail line, we see that the alignment enters the Township of Langley along the outer edge of mostly agricultural lands with low-density housing and businesses in those areas, then along Hwy. 10/Glover Road where it finally enters the City of Langley. If one was to look at the "heart of our community" with regards to this heavy rail traffic, the greatest impact is in the heart of Langley City.

We wondered this morning what Mayor Peter Fassbender of the City of Langley thinks about Mayor Green's statements regarding his municipality? Is this a subtle way of Mayor Green suggesting that the age old debate of the City of Langley amalgamating with the Township progress? Does Mayor Green aspire to expand his kingdom?  Just wondering.

Langley Record Exclusive Expose'

For several weeks now the Langley Record has been researching some external public sources and gathering materials related to a matter that should raise alarm bells in the Township of Langley.

Join us as our research is presented this Saturday morning to the taxpayers of the Township, so that they may once again draw their own conclusions. It's not often that this Editorial Board agrees with Willy Nilly and Horny Toad, but in this instance we must agree with them on this one. The Countdown Clock is ticking away. Stay tuned!

Highlights of Monday Meetings of Township of Langley Council

TOL Council Special Meeting - January 19, 2009

Welcome to the new Langley Record quote format with regards to Township special and regular council meetings. We will not ignore commentary, however we will provide overwhelmingly more direct quotes on what was said and allow readers of the Langley Record to draw their own conclusions. Over time, perhaps we will provide introductions to sections and post audio files on the topics. As we have hours of audio files, we will post over the next week select discussions that council had and that we consider to be important to the community. Let us know what you think about the new format and please provide your input on what council discussed.

Council Discussion on Committees and Commissions

Coun. Kositsky pointed out that current council Standing Committees have been suspended since the new mayor took office and proposed a set of new Mayor’s Standing Committees and Taskforces that may duplicate the committees that are established by Bylaw and Coun. Kositsky questioned under what authority the Standing Committees were suspended, given that they are established by Bylaw.

Coun. Richter: “I had a question with regards to the selection process. Now you’ve indicated that you will be advertising and people can apply, but who makes the decision as to who is appointed?"

Mayor Green: “Are we talking about the Standing Committees?

Coun. Richter: “No, the mayor’s committees.”

Mayor Green: “Yeah, the mayor’s Standing Committees. I think that should be a discussion of council. I’m certainly prepared to have that discussion then. It’s really because of the Taskforce format in particular that I sort of want to keep that open. So we are not talking about a standing committee format in that case. In the area of protective services I think it really get’s down to basically just the quality of individuals that apply, their bio and their resume and I think council should be a part of that process.”

Coun. Richter: “OK, but I was going to suggest that if it’s a mayor’s committee, the mayor gets to make the choice."

Mayor Green: “Well I think technically I can pull that string if I have to, and I certainly want to show the discourse that I think is necessary to move this along. I’ll certainly make my feelings known. I feel comfortable going through that process”

Coun. Ferguson: “I guess the difference in a select committee and a standing committee… on a select committee you have a number of folks sitting around the table from the public, using Langley residents. [Example of Agricultural Committee given and other discussion]. Now the select committee you would have less people working maybe on specific things and it would come back to council, but you would have less members of the public involved. And I guess that would be the difference in philosophy. Would it be an issue of duplication or just less input from the public?”

“When would we be looking at some of these other mayor’s standing committees? And just looking at your list you have here and I know you’ve only talked about a couple. Horses, transportation, community, culture, and other things and I’m just wondering when they would come into place?”

Mayor Green: “I can’t answer that question.”

Coun. Ferguson: “You got kind of a guestimate or something?”

Mayor Green: “Um, no I don’t. Not at this moment.”

Coun. Ferguson: “OK, when would we be reviewing it again to look at it? A month from now? Two months from now? Six months from now?”

Mayor Green: “I…Councillor Ferguson I really can’t….we have an awful lot of work to do and to get through and budgeting and everything else in terms of priorities. I really can’t give you any indication at this point.”

Coun. Richter: “I had a question. Why do we need an Economic Development Taskforce? What’s the intent of this taskforce? What’s its mandate going to be? And similarly, why do we need a Protective Services Taskforce? What would it’s mandate be? And where I’m going with these questions is wouldn’t it be easier that instead of having these four committees, wouldn’t it be easier just to change the work plan for the select committees? So whatever task is being set before the Economic Development Taskforce…that we give that task to the select committee, and similarly with the Protective Services. But I’ve really like to know what the” [discussion ended abruptly by speaker as mayor injects his thoughts].

Mayor Green: “Well I think the…If I may. First of all let’s deal with the first one. The Standing Committee on Protective Services. In my view it deals probably in a higher overview of the issues surrounding policing and protective issues in our community. It involves…it might involve… yes it will involve fewer because you have to have 50% of that to be from members of council. But it will have a few key members of the community that can involve the community in the process. Involving the community in helping the police department and the fire department in terms of gathering assets, gathering donated assets and other things that may be supplied to the police department to allow them to do a better job, that may not be able to be provided through the regular budget process.”

“Secondly, the issue of the taskforce. I could I guess change the mandate of the Economic Development Committee. Other than to say a taskforce deals with a more focused view of in this particular case, economic development. What I would like them to look at is what I would call a 30,000 foot view of the Township of Langley. Where do we stand today in terms of our industrial and commercial land with a 100,000 population? Where are we going to stand in 13-15 or 20 years from now with a population of 168,000 to 200,000 population. How much acreage do we have available to us in industrial and commercial space? How unbalanced will our taxation be between residential and commercial and/industrial?”

“I think we all know that residential taxation…residential development doesn’t pay for itself. A lot of it is in the industrial/commercial tax area. I’d like to see them in a higher end and I think we have a number of people that are on the Economic Development Committee that could morph into this. But essentially develop a tax model for the municipality going forward, and what that might look like recognizing their interest and involvement in economic development and business. And they will bring a private view, a private enterprise view if you will, of where our challenges are going to be. Where our challenges are going to be in transportation, location, and what does that look like?...

Coun. Richter: “Well I guess where I’m coming from is that usually with a taskforce they have a specific mandate or end point and what you just said is basically you want a tax model for the municipality with regards to industrial, commercial, and residential. That’s the end point. That’s what you want them to come up with. Now looking at our existing Economic Development Commission, I don’t understand why they couldn’t do that job. I think they would be quite capable of doing that job, and it might be very meaningful work for them to be doing."

"Secondly with regards to Protective Services, again, what is the end point? Is the end point for them to come up with a recommendation that there be a police commission, or an assessment of whether there should be a police commission. If that’s the end point then it should be specified. And that may be something that the Community Safety group could do."

"It seems to me that one of the criticisms that was levied against our committee structure prior to the review was that there are good and well-meaning and capable individuals in the community, that are spinning their wheels at these meetings and not achieving allot. I would not want to see us create a parallel or duplicate structure that’s going to result in the same thing. I think if we can meld the two together, we kill two birds with one stone. We give meaningful work to the committees that already exist and we get the end points that we want to have achieved."

"So my recommendation is that instead of having separate committees or suspending committees, I’d just change the work plan for the Select Committees to focus them in on the next year on those specific end points.”

[Mayor’s discussion of Community Charter not allowing a Police Board and his views of a taskforce and what that looks like (project focused).]

Coun. Richter: “I see duplication. If we are going to have 8 different taskforces of the mayor, all with 3 members of council, council is not going to have any time to do anything else other than to go to these committee meetings. And I am concerned about that.”

Mayor Green: “I would suggest that won’t be the case.”

Coun. Richter: “And not just council, but staff members as well. I mean it takes an incredible amount of staff resources to run these committees.”

[Editor’s note of Councillor Bateman’s nodding of head in agreement to Councillor Richter’s statements. How much does all this staff time cost as Coun. Richter pointed out?]

[Coun. Kositsky comments about all of the volunteers that have applied for committees and are awaiting word on their applications since December. He also pointed out the Bylaw for the various committees and doesn’t understand how the mayor can suspend committees now in violation of the Bylaw.]

Coun. Kositsky: “These are council advisory committees and the mayor can form any committees he wants, but for the sake of the volunteers we need some direction Your Worship”

[Mayor directs discussion to Mark Bakken, TOL Administrator for comment. Mayor promises Terms of Reference for next council meeting.]

[Bob Long moves to move forward with Youth Commission and Parks. Administrator suggests discussion in Special Closed session during dinner break. Mayor suggests all committee appointments happen at the same time.]

End of public discussion on this topic.

Councillor Kositsky wrote a Letter to the Editor in the Langley Times.

Council Recap Coming Soon

The Editorial Board of the Langley Record is sitting around with cups of coffee and watching the US Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama. Our faithful TOL Council representative has recorded the two council meetings as he started to do for us last week and later today and tonight we will be posting our council recap.

Our representative did comment as he dropped the recording off to us, that Mayor Rick Green starting in the last council meeting and now this one to change direction. As we said, we will report the good, the bad and the ugly. This is really good for the taxpayers of the TOL, in that Mayor Rick has for the most part, put aside the campaign rhetoric and is getting down to work WITH council. That is refreshing and greatly needed, and we congratulate the mayor on his decision to engage council and get things done.  More to come later today!

Advance Notice - Important Council Meeting This Monday

District Heating

Last year Councillor Jordan Bateman moved a motion to have staff investigate the provision of District Heating in new neighbourhoods. This innovative and green energy solution to use such things as geothermal sources to heat large areas of homes has been looked at and staff have now issued The Potential for District Heating in New Neighbourhoods report.

There is now a recommendation that council receive this report and approve a pre-feasibility study to identify potential opportunities and energy cources available to operate heating systems within the TOL. This could lead to much cheaper heating for residents and some potential cash generation for the Township. If devleopers are required to install these systems as part of the development process and the TOL created a public utility, there is the potential for profit. This discussion will take place in the 4:00pm Special Council Meeting. You can read the full staff report here.

Roundabouts

Also during the Special Council Meeting at 4:00pm, staff will be making a presentation on roundabouts. This should be interesting and we assume that staff will be supporting this traffic calming tool where strategic.

Brown's Pit

The Province of BC plans to use Brown's Pit for gravel extraction and was a vone of contention during last year's municipal election in the TOL. But the Township is a creation of the provincial government and can do little to halt this plan by the province. During this week's regular council meeting on Monday, January 19, 2009 at 7:00pm, several deletions will be speaking about the Brown Pit plan.

Mufford Cresent Overpass

Another big election topic centered around the long-proposed Mufford overpass project with many residents claiming that no prior public consultations took place. We previously outlined the process and clearly there was some consultations. People simply miss them at times and then blame others for their mistakes. At the end of this Monday's council meeting under Other Business there are two motions related to the Mufford overpass.

Notice of Motion By Councillor Kim Richter at the January 12, 2009 Regular Meeting of Council:

Mufford Crescent / Glover Road
Whereas the Mufford/Glover Overpass is a significant development and financial project, and all of Council should hear from the public on this matter; therefore

Be it resolved that a public hearing style of Council meeting be held following the open houses so that all members of Council can hear from the residents.

LR Editor's Note: Not bad...short and to the point!

Councillor Kositsky presented the following Notice of Motion within the deadlines according to Council’s Policy:

Mufford Crescent / Glover Road
Whereas a lot of time, energy and money has been spent on trying to address the traffic safety issues surrounding the T-intersection at Mufford Crescent and Highway 10; and

Whereas Langley Township has been preparing various options to take to the public for consideration and review, including presentations to Council from citizen groups and individuals; and

Whereas all of those options involve using farmland and sensitive environmental areas; and

Whereas the Township of Langley will be facing critical financial challenges due to the global economic downturn - and the federal and provincial governments are talking about looming deficits, forcing local governments to carefully evaluate their priorities; and

Whereas the majority of the traffic safety problems and congestion at the T-intersection are caused by having two railway crossings too close together;

Be it resolved that Langley Township Council direct staff for safety purposes to close the T-intersection at Mufford Crescent, such as putting up proper fencing along the tracks and/or cement blocks to impede traffic; and

That Mufford Crescent become a local traffic only road, making it safer for existing businesses to operate, with a cul-de-sac created (as necessary) west of the train tracks and an alternate route be explored with Langley City to allow traffic to flow back to the Highway 10 Bypass through 62nd Avenue; and

That any Township of Langley funds currently set aside for the proposed Mufford overpass and new road project be directed to improvements to 208th Street from the 62nd Avenue border with the City to 96th Avenue, where there will be connections with the Golden Ears Bridge; and

That the 208th Street upgrade also include completing the 208th Street Highway One overpass to full interchange status, expanding it to four lanes and creating on and off ramps, as it was designed for; and

That the Township of Langley apply for funding to both the Gateway project, Translink and any federal government infrastructure grants for the improvements to 208th Street and highway interchange.

LR Editor's Note: OK, so Councillor Richter is no the only one to write long motions, but in this case we should all agree it was warranted based on the description required.

The Langley Record Continues

Some haters over at the unnamed slanted blog continue to speak about us, even though they promised not to do so because we were deemed irrelevant. People just can't stop talking about something that bothers the hell out of them, and so we let them rant on.

Although the slanted blog "editor" has remained completely anonymous for the couple of years they have been around, they have this itch that needs to be scratched by trying to guess who we are. Like we said before, if they come out with their blog slate and stop hiding behind the BS "editor" screen, then we will be happy to do the same. By remaining anonymous, they just seek to protect and cushion their site owner, Councillor Kim Richter, from the outrageous comments and border-line slanderous statements that they constantly post. At the same time they have the gall to accuse us of all that! We are not protecting any candidates or providing them with a level of deniability as they do. 

We gather if our comments were directed negatively towards a certain young councillor or other members of the previous council that Richter cannot get along at all with, then that would make our posts OK. Yet another double standard, but not surprising for Councillor Richter. Has that blog ever posted ANYTHING at all positive about Councillor Bateman or the others they dislike? No. That is because their blog is totally unbalanced and crosses the hate line frequently. But they fail to realize that only their fan club can overlook the hate. Intelligent people see right through it all and understand how this same behaviour carries over to interactions with our Township Council meetings and shamefully decisions that impact on our residents. At least Councillor Bateman has the integrity and guts to report the facts on council and often in a non-partisan way. This is another sign that Councillor Richter's inaugurial statements about working together was very disengenuous to say the least. The Langley Record will post the positive and the negative for sure. 

We didn't want to speak about it, but we want to make a few things very clear

1. We have no plans to fold this blog and start another. We post when we have things to post and we don't post to hear ourselves talk like other sometimes do.
2. They can call it a "major lie", but we did clearify our post on snow removal. The fact is that in the January 12th council meeting Councillor Richter was very negative in her comments related to snow removal. Regardless of how you slice it and dice it, you cannot divorce staff from the job and road conditions regardless of how much you talk about policy. Let's see what Councillor Richter does in the budget hearings to pay for this very expensive service, shall we? 
3. Our council correspondent does us a favour by providing us with an audio file of the various meetings. The Editorial Board then reviews the audio comments and create a blog posts.  We know exactly what was said, and in time perhaps we will post the audio files for you to hear it for yourself. This is how we plan to destroy their accusations each and every time.

We did not create this blog to attacked Mayor Green, Councillor Richter or anyone else. But we will post our observations that we are entitled to and as these people are public officials, we have a freedom of the press to print our observations as long as we don't personally attack them with accusations that are false. We will also hold them accountable and this is the real crux of their disagreement with us. As far as nick names and such, the other blog has put labels on various politicians, and certainly singles out one in particular all the time. The tables have turned and they are now very upset and accusatory. Again, we want to make it clear that we are not intimidated and are here to stay. 

Councillor Richter gave a long disertation during the inaugurial meeting about council working together. If she meant that and did not simply grandstand to the large audience, then she should practice this in her council interactions and blog posts. There is a saying...if you want to have friends then you have to show yourself friendly. Many times in life you earn respect by first showing respect to others without expecting anything in return. We would welcome Councillor Richter moving in a direction of cooperation and respect with her fellow councillors. 

We would also like to say that while the snow removal plan did leave many residents snowbound because of where they live, the managers of that program presented the snow removal plan to council during the last meeting in December 2008. We can report that there were NO objections to the plan as presented, not even from Councillor Kim Richter. This same plan was then advertised several times on the Township newspaper page and posted to the TOL website. No public comments were posted in the local papers after the plan was posted. These storms were the worst in 50 years and they are not something we can expect every year. While it would be nice to plow every street, it is an unrealistic expectation for almost 1,000 KM of TOL roadways. It seems better to us to have plows available for the clearing of emergency vehicle runs, with a call centre to sort out resident requests for plowing to facilitate their work attendance or medical challenges. TOL staff is expected to report back on the possibilities and then we can look at the costs for the various options. We don't see anything unreasonable about a sober look at things. As this storm did not result in Mayor Green declaring an official State of Emergency, discussions regarding relief after 72 hours is irrelevant.

Finally, Mayor Green acted much more professionally in the last council meeting, and we commended him for containing his viable anger with regards to Councillor Kositsky's questions and comments directed at the new finance committee and the hiring of a consultant. We will continue to report the good and the bad. Again, we hope this move by the mayor will be a permanent one, bringing mayor and council to a new level of working cooperation.

The good and the bad. Read it here and we will continue to exist. Don't listen to haters!

January 12, 2009 Council Meeting and Beyond

Mayor's Report

We are pleased to report that the Mayor's Report was tame last evening and this was refreshing news. We trust that future reports will highlight the various activities happening in our community and which are attended by mayor and council backups.

Hiring Committees and a Consultant

Councillor Mel Kositsky did take Mayor Green to task regarding the launch of the new Finance Committee and said basically without advertising and process, this was a slap in the face to volunteers in our community. Kositsky also repeated his questions related to the hiring of real estate consultant Bruce Maitland (and Green campaign confidant) . Although Councillor Kositsky asked many times for the price tag for this consultancy, we only know that the initial consultation will be 20-40 hours and therefore does not need council approval. But HOW MUCH??

Council spent a good amount of time in the special meeting discussing snow removal and storm policy. In the end they refered the issue to staff to research options and costs. In the evening session Councillor Kim Richter put forth a motion that would require the Township to clear all roads within 72 hours, among other provisions. This without any indication from staff of the costs. She was the only council member who's comments were overwhelmingly negative and with little thanks to public works staff for sacrifices over the holidays. Councillor Richter made a reference to having money for an events centre and therefore having enough for snow removal. A basic business lesson was given to Councillor Richter by fellow councillors who pointed out that the events centre was capital costs and snow removal is operational costs. The motion was defeated while a report from staff on snow removal options is pending.

Although visibly upset at times during the discussions related to committees and such, our council reporter says that Mayor Green did a fairly good job of containing anger and seemed to treat the councillors with a higher degree of respect. This is all good and we applaud the mayor for moving in this new direction.

Charlie Fox On The Mend

One final item of note from last evening. Council moved to grant Councillor Charlie Fox an indefinate leave of absence with pay, so that he can recover from his recent kidney transplant and focus on healing along with his family.  Councillor Richter tried to offer an amendment to the motion to limit Charlie's leave of absence to 6 months only. We will resist the urge to comment further on this one. 

Snow Removal

One of our loyal reads sent us this possible cost-effective snow removal solution for Councillor Richter to consider. With all of her..."interesting" motions this one may win her heart over. We know an unemployed guy who kicks around the TOL who may want to apply for this and do something constructive for once. That is unless our mayor has a few more friends who might be interested in the job. 

Blogger In The Fog

We hear that another blog writer is ranting and raving again over our anonymity. This is really hilareous given the fact that no individual on that blog takes credit or responsibility for their posts, and everyone is in denial as to who the real "editor" is (as if none of us already know!) He's got a bee in his bonnet now and intends to take everyone to task. He's also planning on logging the entire internet on the advice of some underemployed apparent legal student/intern that can't find a real legal job. Canada is a free country and enjoys freedom of the press. Of course this person and the elected official that owns the site is restrictive as to who gets the freedom and liberty. All we can say is log on buddy. Log on. We aren't scared of you and we  don't come anywhere close to feeling intimidated. Log on.

Thoughts For Tonight's Township Council Meeting

One of our Editorial Board member's offered these thoughts/questions for tonight's council meeting:

What will Raging Bull rage against in his mayor's report tonight?

• Will it be another undisguised political attack on his council?
  
• Will he rage against staff and council for snow removal that he applauded at the last council meeting after hearing the full snow plan from staff?
  
• Will he rage against council and staff for the Mufford overpass, which his political buddies, the Muffords and VALTAC, don't want?
• The Langley Times article on the Events Centre?
  
• Will he rage against his only friend, Kim Richter, for her broadcast emails slagging the Township's snow removal?

The mayor had some harsh words for e-mails being sent regarding fire fighters and sport. But now it appears that Councillor Kim Richter carried out her own e-mail campaign regarding snow removal. If the mayor is going to rage against others, perhaps he will now have to put Richter in her place for her latest e-mail campaign? Stay tuned tonight and we will post the Mayor's Report as soon as it becomes available.

Some of our Editorial Board members were in Langley City last night for coffee and some other politically-savvy city residents we know were talking about Mayor Green's letter regarding the LEC. These city residents feel that Township politics has become very negative since Green took over.

They viewed the mayor's letter as a direct and inappropriate assault on Councillor Jordan Bateman (whom most know only socially) and said that Bateman's response letter was viewed as very civil and non-confrontational. They commented that he did not take unfair snipes at the mayor, even though his letter was very much a snipe.

Now before we get 10 angry messages from Horny Toad let me point out that these later comments were not made by our Editorial Board and came from Langley City residents with no allegiances to Green nor Bateman.

Campaign Friend and Insides Selected for Unadvertised Committee Posts - Consultant Hired Without Council Approval

Today's Langley Times published this article on Mayor Rick Green's new finance committee. You will note that Mayor Green ran on a platform of open and accountable government, while engaging the public for input. This new advisory committee has already met last Wednesday with Mayor Green.

Unlike all other TOL committee appointments in the past, this one was never advertised on the Township Page in local newspapers nor the Township's website. Traditionally formal written applications are received from members of the general public that show an interest in serving a two year term on the various committees and commissions. These applicants are then screened by staff and undergo an interview with mayor and members of council before any final selection is made. In December of 2008 e-mails were sent to those Township residents serving on current committees advising them that the list of committees was being reviewed and changes could be made. Also prior to that e-mail message, the Township advertised on the Township Page in local newspapers for various committee and commission appointments. Those applicants have not been contacted by the Township since the process was placed on hold in late 2008.

A review of the list of finance advisory members (and as reported in the Langley Times), includes Rick Green a close campaign friend and insiders. Although these committee members may hold some professional qualifications such as lawyer or accountant, the normal open and accountable committee selection process was scrapped and a committee appears to have already been appointed. You will note in our previous post today that the terms of reference for this advisory committee will not be officially reviwed by council until the Monday, January 12, 2009 council meeting. Yet Mayor Green has seen fit to already appoint and meet with this committee ahead of any council discussion and without any public consultation or advertising for qualified potential candidates.

A Langley Record Editorial Board member had been awaiting advertising for this finance advisory committee. This person has 29 years of experience as a chartered accountant and has served in senior executive finance positions for several Canadian and US public companies.

Green said the Township is currently compiling an inventory of municipal-owned lands, and Bruce Maitland, a former director of real estate services for the City of Vancouver, will be working as a consultant to the Township to recommend ways the property can alleviate the tax burden here.

Maitland, Green said, will make a presentation to the advisory committee, and to council, on the workings of a property trust fund in the next three or four weeks.

What is even more disturbing to this Editorial Board and should raise the eyebrows of each and every Township taxpayer is that Mayor Green tells us at the end of this article that Mr. Bruce Maitland will be working as a consultant for the Township. You will recall that Mayor Green mentioned this consultant's name numerous times during his campaign and had also e-mailed some TOL residents with a reference letter from Mr. Maitland on behalf of then mayoral candidate Rick Green.

Apparently Mr. Maitland has been hired using taxpaer's money and without any consultation or approval of Township Council. Another insider hired directly by the mayor without any council process or arm's distance from the consulting engagement process. Does this sound like open and accoutable government to you?

Monday TOL Council Meetings For January 12, 2009

Agenda for Special Council Meeting here (4:00pm)

Agenda for Regular Council Meeting here (7:00pm)

This week's Council Reports/Agenda Item Background info:

1. 2009 Council Standing Committees - Terms of Reference

2. Rezoning Application # 1

3. Rezoning Application and Provincial ALR Application # 2

Fluff

The Editorial Board is sitting here around the coffee table pondering Councillor Kim Richter's inaugural speech. On it's own, Kim's comments on each councillor and their strengths was very good and positive. Afterward several people asked me what I thought of her speech. I said that although I did not want to be pessimistic, I had my doubts of the sincerity of her address. There was a large crowd there that night, including politicians from other areas. It was an opportunity to look good and appear to be the peacemaker.

Public hearings, delegations, inaugural meetings, etc. will always see passionate Richter rhetoric and lots of motions to pander to the masses. Why bother? Before the very first (business) council meeting there was a council priorities meeting and shortly thereafter, even Mayor Green was thrown under the bus by Councillor Richter.

In our opinion, Richter has a long way to go to earn the trust and respect of her fellow council. The trust issue is even greater than the respect portion. We chatted this morning about what council would look like if:

• Mayor Green released a reasonable and detailed plan that outlines how he will deliver on his promises, finance the Township for 0-0-0, and still maintain a decent level of service to the taxpayers.

• Councillor Richter worked on the trust issues and became more cooperative. And no, we are not asking her to throw away what she professes to believe in, nor give up asking questions of costs and accountability.

• Mayor Green did as former mayor Kurt Alberts and tried to bring all council members together for a concensus, while not relying on private meetings, positioning, and strategies for his own benefit.

We could all do without the fluff. Flowery, meaningless speeches will get us nowhere. The PM is talking about "years" of economic concern and hardship for the country. Our experience tells us that these are generally 5 year cycles and who knows with this big crisis how long before a recovery is at hand.

By putting away personal agenda, pride and a constant need to align one self for next election, Mayor Green and this council could actually accomplish many things for the benefit of the Township taxpayer.

In The News - Bateman Addresses Raging Bull - Bull Responds With Smear Campaign

Township Councillor Jordan Bateman's letter to the editor of The Langley Advance provides a rational reply to comments made in the same newspaper earlier this week by Mayor Raging Bull, as part of his ongoing bullying of certain council members that he and his slate feel threatened by.

"Indeed, the lack of federal funding is disappointing, but council decided to move forward, because the majority of the funds were sourced outside of the Township, and taxpayers were protected from cost overruns by a fixed-price, design-build agreement.

Further, council has fully disclosed all information related to the budget, construction, and the partners involved in the project."

- TOL Councillor Jordan Bateman

The immediate reaction from the Raging Bull fan club was this assault on Bateman in typical fashion for this slate. Of course this letter contains baseless accusations that Bateman is inexperienced, when in fact Councillor Bateman enjoys the strong respect of senior politicians and veteran ministers, one of which Mayor Raging Bull tried to create a fallacy of endorsement from by crashing this minister's BBQ uninvited this past summer. We have it on good sources that this slate greatly resents the respect that Bateman enjoys from seasoned and popular politicians, and they are seen attacking him often for it. The Bull's latest attack is yet another MAJOR sign of a mayor running scared. Maybe you can term it a "running of the bulls"? When the running of the bulls is in full swing, the thought process of the bulls simply switch off and they do some wild and unpredictable things. Some term their behaviour as "madness".

Of course Bateman is singled out and the rest of council (including Kim Richter) are all ignored. We are certain this letter writer and Mayor Raging Bull are keenly aware of these election results from the November 15, 2008 election, but we will remind them that the "mandate" is very clear.

BATEMAN, Jordan - 9273 votes
FOX, Charlie - 7956 votes
RICHTER, Kim - 7906
GREEN, Rick - 7842

One will note that BATEMAN, FOX and RICHTER all received more votes than the mayor. Mayor Raging Bull and his slate are now VERY scared of Bateman and it shows in their letters and blog posts. The opposition is coming together very strongly, and in good numbers. Smart people are seeing the game and lack of detailed public plans from this slate. They are coming on board to voice their opposition in ways that one particular councillor has never seen. One of our Editorial Board members overhead her being dressed down by a significant community leader, despite her attemtps to pander to him.

These Raging Bull tactics will only backfire on the Bull and his slate. In fact, it has already started. People don't take kindly to bullies these days. Times have changed old man. Better update the photo so the people can see the real you.

So Where Is Our Advocate Mayor Rick Green

We keep presenting facts here from statements and articles and people keep accusing us of attacking Mayor Rick Green or Councillor Kim Richter. So this time we will show the various sources and quote them word for word without our commentary and then allow the reader to draw their own conclusions. Rick Green promised to be there for us to fight on our behalf. That includes "intense farming" and going after the provincial government for the Right to Farm legislation, the federal government over heavy train traffic and money for the Langley Events Centre.

It now appears that Mayor Green has performed another of his now famous flip-flops. See for yourself.

Mayor Rick Green's Inaugural Address INAUGURAL ADDRESS by Mayor William R. (Rick) Green Township of Langley - December 1, 2008

"The citizens have voted, it is now time to put that behind us, and get down to work for the benefit of the taxpayer, and I truly believe all of us at this table are committed to deliver just that."

"I want to make it very clear that we will continue to work closely with our senior levels of government. It is my intent to establish regular meetings with all three of our representatives Mr. Mark Warawa, our Federal MP, the Honourable Rich Coleman, MLA for Fort Langley-Aldergrove, and with the Honourable Mary Polak, MLA for Langley. These meetings will ensure that our lines of communication are open at all times."

"It has always been my belief that our relationship with our senior levels of government must be solid, open, and cooperative, however, it must also be stated that we will ensure the needs of Township citizens and their interests come first. That applies to quality of life, family, transportation, agriculture, environment, as well as health issues among others."

"You have our commitment that we will carry your wishes with us in our deliberations and discussions with the province, the federal government, and at the Region Board table. We will negotiate and fight on your behalf."

Langley Advance - Tuesday, January 6, 2008 Letter From Mayor Rick Green

"The failure of federal funding to materialize is significant to the Township taxpayer. While there is a significant record of communication between the Township and the federal government, I cannot find an official application for funding. One would have to agree, it would take more than a few letters to MPs and cabinet ministers to support an application for $5 million, even from the federal government."

So did Mayor Green meet with MP Warawa to "negotiate and fight on our behalf"? Councillor Jordan Bateman put up a good fight and also provided documentation to refute the MP. What about Green?

Raging Bull At It Again

Township Alert - The bully is back in his playground...

As we previously reported here, Al Irwin of the Langley Times published an opinion that impacted Mayor Green and Councillor Richter. You cannot access the link to Mr. Irwin's article because it has bee removed and replaced with this pro-Green/Richter article by Frank Bucholtz, Editor of the Langley Times and a supporter of Mayor Green. Rather than speculate whether Green called his editor-in-pocket or not, we will leave the readers to draw their own conclusions and understand that the work of a bully is evident once again.

The second evidence of bully-work appears here in a letter from Mayor Green to the Langley Advance. While it would have been totally appropriate for the mayor to offer his view on the Events Centre, and to address an article written by an Advance reporter, these comments about Councillor Bateman's age should cause TOL residents some serious concern. They are seriously inappropriate for a mayor, and further prove a total lack of diplomacy and a spirit of cooperation. Diplomacy is a requirement for the job of mayor, and it is not evident here in the TOL thus far. We can only hope it will change.

"Councillor Jordan Bateman has said that I just don't understand the process. For the record, I have spent many more years than his age being very involved in successfully managing and owning business of significant size."

--Mayor Rick Green

Age really has nothing to do with it and in fact, being long in the tooth can at times stifle progress. We will reserve further comment as the evidence speaks for itself. Councillor Bateman's comments were respectful and accomodating to Mayor Green. Additionally, this all serves as a smokescreen so that Green can avoid releasing detailed information on how he intends to finance the Township over the next 3 years in order to avoid property tax increases. But read this..

"The $5 million shortfall in federal funding equates to an eight per cent tax increase, if it was to be paid for through property tax rolls. That won't be the case, but it shows the impact of this type of decision."

--Mayor Rick Green

The $5M for the Events Centre was not coming from a proerty tax increase, it is coming from a reserve fund for these purposes. So why is the mayor appearing to twist facts here?

When will Raging Bull get some emotional control and professionalism? Lack of plans and focus, not on speaking terms with councillors, holding grudges from the campaign, attacking their age and credibility, etc. etc. etc. If age amounts to a hill of beans in the big scheme of things, then perhaps it is high time for the good mayor to start acting his. Raging Bull is at it again. Stand clear.

Al Irwin - Keeping It In The Public Domain

The Langley Times may have censored veteran reporter Al Irwin by removing his excellent Opinion piece, so let's re-post it here to keep it in the public domain and accessible to the public.

From The Langley Times - Dated January 3, 2009.

2009 promises to be an interesting year in local Township politics. With the arrival of Mayor Rick Green, Councillor Kim Richter now has one member on council who sees at least some things her way. Both are outspoken in opposition to Kurt Alberts, who, time will tell, was one of the best mayors the Township has had.

Green, in his campaign, adopted many issues championed by Richter, most notably property tax increases, increases primarily necessitated to cover increasing wages (wages are 61 per cent of the operating budget) and new, full-time fire fighting staff, which Richter also championed, and which Green has promised to continue to implement. As one correspondent to Richter's own website noted, that's like ordering from the menu, and refusing to pay the bill. Richter and Green also take issue with airport lease rates, though Richter voted against lease hikes in 2001.

Green's concerns aren't restricted to taxes, and in his election campaign he condemned poor management of major projects, the water management plan, property deals (and there were some very astute ones for the Township's future), fiscal responsibility, commuter rail and the Robert's Bank heavy rail corridor.

Lengthy freight-train traffic through Langley Township is not likely to disappear anytime soon, and if the recent kerfuffle over the Langley Events Centre illustrates anything, it is how hard it is to get funds from the federal government.

Yet extensive work over the past four years by the previous council has secured funding of some $51 million from various partners including Ottawa, for a rail-overpass solution to the safety concerns (particularly for emergency vehicles) at the Mufford/Glover intersection.

That overpass, and its funding, could be in jeopardy since Green and some of his supporters are questioning the route through the ALR lands of Milner. However, the majority on council, those Green refers to in his campaign literature as "the silent slate" (a nod to Richter's website) and Richter chides on her website as the "good old boys," were all returned in the election. These councillors would dispute that they comprise a slate. And when you consider that one of them, Grant Ward, originally ran (unsuccessfully) on the same slate as Richter, the Langley Citizen's Coalition, and another, Jordan Bateman, also first ran unsuccessfully, on the Coalition's arch-foe and raison d'etre, the Langley Leadership Team, and Mel Kositsky served with aplomb and dignity as an independent throughout the Langley Leadership era, the "silent slate" label is at best spurious.

However, as Richter so plaintively pointed out in her inaugural speech, no one on council should be ostracized, though reliable sources say Richter herself has not spoken to some council members, including her one-time Citizens Coalition running mate, Ward, for several years, and her incessant barrage of website vitriol against the "good old boys" may have fostered more enmity than amity.

--Al Irwin

Langley Relay for Life Raises $460.000 in 2008

Thanks to the hard work for former Township Councillor Howie Vickberg and his dedicated volunteers, The Langley Relay for Life raised $460K for cancer research and treatment in 2008 and they plan to up the goal in 2009. The Langley Advance has been re-posting events of 2008 and this was one of them.

Our Editorial Board already misses seeing Howie at the council table. Howie Vickberg is always positive, respectful and community minded. His love for Langley is evident in all that he does and you've got to like a councillor that can even so a decent job of singing!

More than $460K in 2009? Go get 'em Howie and crew!

The Langley Times Confirms The Green-Richter Slate

Thank God for honest men that will call a spade a spade. Veteran journalist and long-time TOL Council reporter Al Irwin published some POWERFUL words of wisdom here in Saturday's Langley Times. A newspaper by the way who's editor firmly supports Mayor Rick Green. Listen to this from a man who sits in council week after week watching, listening and is privy to the inside scoop...

"With the arrival of Mayor Rick Green, Councillor Kim Richter now has one member on council who sees at least some things her way. Both are outspoken in opposition to Kurt Alberts, who, time will tell, was one of the best mayors the Township has had."

LR Editor - That's right Mr. Irwin, because these two are very much birds of a feather and they ran a slate together. But this slate, with constant self-professions of immense business accumen have yet to greatly detail what they will do differently than that of former Mayor Kurt Alberts and his council.

"Yet extensive work over the past four years by the previous council has secured funding of some $51 million from various partners including Ottawa, for a rail-overpass solution to the safety concerns (particularly for emergency vehicles) at the Mufford/Glover intersection."

"That overpass, and its funding, could be in jeopardy since Green and some of his supporters are questioning the route through the ALR lands of Milner. However, the majority on council, those Green refers to in his campaign literature as “the silent slate” (a nod to Richter’s website) and Richter chides on her website as the “good old boys,” were all returned in the election. These councillors would dispute that they comprise a slate. And when you consider that one of them, Grant Ward, originally ran (unsuccessfully) on the same slate as Richter, the Langley Citizen’s Coalition, and another, Jordan Bateman, also first ran unsuccessfully, on the Coalition’s arch-foe and raison d’etre, the Langley Leadership Team, and Mel Kositsky served with aplomb and dignity as an independent throughout the Langley Leadership era, the “silent slate” label is at best spurious."

LR Editor - Right again Mr. Irwin. For the sake of some staunch Rick Green supporters this Township may lose a whole lot of money and this very important infrastructure. All in the name of helping some good old friends of Mayor Rick Green. The good mayor pointed his finger at former Mayor Alberts and a dynamic council team. Accusing them of doing something that he (Green) and Richter did themselves, and that was to run a slate. Alberts published no newspaper ads in 2008 that indicated he had any slate. He did run ordinary people picture ads of those that supported him. It was Richter's website that encouraged people to "plum the ballot" and then provided a listing of the slate on election day.

"Green, in his campaign, adopted many issues championed by Richter, most notably property tax increases, increases primarily necessitated to cover increasing wages (wages are 61 per cent of the operating budget) and new, full-time fire fighting staff, which Richter also championed, and which Green has promised to continue to implement. As one correspondent to Richter’s own website noted, that’s like ordering from the menu, and refusing to pay the bill. Richter and Green also take issue with airport lease rates, though Richter voted against lease hikes in 2001."

LR Editor - We totalled 87% of the budget for wages based on the Council Priorities meeting notes and collective agreements. Councillor Richter has ordered from the TOL menu many times before without paying the bill so to speak.

You will recall during the 2008 debates Richter said (over and over again), "Ribbon-cutting ceremonies cost the taxpayers money". But the good councillor went on to attend many ribbon cuttings, (at least long enough to get up front and be part of the photo op). Take Jackman Park in Aldergrove as a perfect example. Once the photographer snapped the picture, Councillor Richter was seen making a quick V-line to her chariot. No doubt the permanent smile will be front and centre for the Langley Events Centre ribbon-cutting.

"However, as Richter so plaintively pointed out in her inaugural speech, no one on council should be ostracized, though reliable sources say Richter herself has not spoken to some council members, including her one-time Citizens Coalition running mate, Ward, for several years, and her incessant barrage of website vitriol against the “good old boys” may have fostered more enmity than amity."

LR Editor - We also have it on very good sources that the Green side of the Green-Richter not-so-silent slate is also not on speaking terms with Councillor Grant Ward, and communication with other council members and some staff are strained at best with Mayor Green at his making. How does one be accountable to the taxpayers when this slate is busy holding grudges against other council members and even some of the electorate that opposed them? This is extremly childish and is certain not to go unoticed by the electorate, and The Langley Record will make certain of that.

We find it very interesting that we had been doing our research for days to confirm facts for our Saturday post and had no knowledge of Al Irwin's article and that it would be published the same day. It just goes to show you that this slate is VERY obvious to those who watch and listen. We can't speak more highly of Al Irwin's knowledgeable and astute observations. The man certainly has brains and guts and is a fine journalist in our community. Great work Mr. Irwin!

The Truth About Slates - Green - Richter Slate Leads TOL

For years we have heard Township of Langley Councillor Kim Richter claim her independence and being "your voice at the council table". Her blog and website have attacked what she terms the "The Good 'Ol Boys" and the Kurt Alberts slate. But a recent investigation by the Editorial Board of the Langley Record has revealed some interesting facts that all Township residents should be very aware of regarding a Green/Richter Slate in full operation within the TOL.

This chart appeared on Councillor Kim Richter's website this past election day. Not only did Richter run a clear slate for TOL council, but it included School Board Trustees as well. While her website attacks others for endoring School Board candidates, the pot is calling the kettle black here for sure. See for yourself.

From www.kimrichter.com

Kim Richter Slate Facts For All Township Taxpayers to Be Aware Of

1. Her claims to be "truly independent" are truly outrageous.
2. She is the ONLY currently sitting councillor to be elected on a SLATE. In 1999 she was elected under her Langley Citizens Coalition (LCC).
3. Kim Richter is the ONLY candidate in the history of the Township of Langley to run on 3 different SLATES: The uber-leftwing REAL (Regional Electors of Aldergrove & Langley) SLATE in 1996, the LCC SLATE in 1999, and the Green-Richter SLATE in 2008. Check out the chart above for proof of the later.
4. Kim Richter's slate-bouncing is not surprising when you consider that she was previously a provincial and federal NDPer in 1996 when she lost badly to Lynn Stephens. Richter then ran as a federal Liberal in 2004 and lost badly to MP Mark Warawa. She then pretended to be a BC Liberal in 2008 by turning up at Rich Coleman's fundraiser. But then her website has called for MLA Rich Coleman to resign. Perhaps she was just planning her next provincial run?
5. As is clear by the chart above, Councillor Kim Richter was the ONLY candidate in the Township race to publicly endorse a SLATE in 2008.
6. Richter has no SLATE coattails as only 4 of her 10 Green-Richter SLATE members were elected in 2008 (Green, Richter, Bech & Johnson). Richter was the only successful TOL council candidate in 2008, as Tomblin, Paterson, Jones, and Dhami lost. Maybe they should turn down her offer of support in the 2011 election? Something to think about boys.
7. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck then it is clearly a duck.
   

Councillor Kim Richter - very much a NON-independent SLATE politician.

Quack! Quack! Quack!

Promises, Promises....The Band Plays On

It is a new year with a new mayor. There were many, many promises during his campaign, so now what is Mayor Green going to do to deliver on these many promises? Our Mayor's Report has been turned into a partisan, post-election reiteration of election promises posted here on a revised Township webpage. (Why are we using this 10 year old Rick Green photo by the way? Is there something wrong with aging? It is natural man.) The new year has brought no plans from the mayor on how he will delivery (or even a plan to deliver) on the promises. The local media have not interviewed him to get him on the record, but that is no surprise given the "editor in pocket" comments that have been flying around and overheard.

A HUGE bone of contention for Mayor Rick Green was the Redwoods Golf Course and Bedford House Restaurant purchases by the TOL. Councillor Kim Richter also harped on this all of last year. So, where is Richter's motion to sell off these Township assets and Mayor Green's wagging head to this plan? You hold the keys to these properties so to speak Mr. Mayor, so what are you going to do now? Councillor Richter has been seen walking in step with the mayor, so where is her verbose Notice of Motion on this topic? Maybe we can help her out with this?

Whereas:

1. The Township of Langley is in dire straights because it is politically expedient to tout this line or, "the sky is falling down".
2. That a three year zero-based budget was always a pipe dream and the good mayor failed to do his homework during his long campaign
3. The mayor and I speak in tandem and he borrowed my platform and foiled my bid for mayor in the 2008 campaign
4. I'm going to use my phone to dial for dollars to mount a 2011 mayoral campaign after backing down 3 times
5. The mayor needs me to file motions to promote our agenda
6. All of our collective business wisdom hasn't resulted in any tangible and detailed plans and nor actions
7. (enter weekly shopping list and CBC News Headlines here to make this more verbose and me to get more air time)
   

Now therefore be it resolved that:

1. We not acknowledge the wisdom of former mayor and the other councillors, but we act quietly.
2. That the Township sell off this golf course and restaurant forthwith, forever snuffing out the possibilities of a Rick Green Invitational Golf Tournament and Prime Rib dinner with Yorkshire Pudding to follow.
3. That we use the proceeds of this sale to create the Ricky Zero Based Budget Bail Out Fund.
4. That we then credit the Finance Committee of the Chosen with saving the Township from all manners of harm, tax increases, alternating closed TOL facilities and banishment of toilet tissue from all TOL flush facilities.

Do I have a seconder?

Sasquatch After Mormons - TOL May Be Next On Hit List?

The Langley Times recently published this article about two Mormon missionaries in Burns Lake that found what is believed to be Sasquatch footprints outside their home. The prints were found very close to their wood shed.

Although not verified by the HBCC UFO research people, The Langley Record received credible reports that the sasquatch may be heading to the Township of Langley in time for the January 12, 2009 council meeting in order to greet the mayor and one councillor in particular.

Following his previous protocols, the sasquatch may confront the pair in the vacinity of a soon to be constructed wood shed. This wood shed was planned after recent fulltime fire fighter and Langley Events Centre shaninigans. A wood shed near town hall would sure be handy right about now, and just in time for the budget considerations. Wonder if NORAD will track this one?

How to Lose Votes and Be a Bad Influence on People

The Editorial Board received word last night that a certain Township councillor and quite possibly another at the top have burned some major bridges with their Langley Events Centre reconsideration stunt. To make matters worse, a blog published by this councillor recently threatened to "investigate" the use of some mailing lists.

Apparently the parties concerned have added some serious insult to injury, now impacting the community at large. As in the business world, companies who fail to provide excellent customer service will soon find themselves out of business. The principle behind it all is that when you burn one person they spread the word to 30-50 other people. Well, one person that has been put out in a serious way has a high degree of respect with some 4,500 families in Langley. Not only that, but when this person is not volunteering, he is a senior level finance executive for a major corporation. It is the type of person that should be appointed to a finance committee to bail the Township out of a mess of promises, but it appears that friends and campaign pals will fit the bill. But that is the top dog's problem.

But clearly this certain councillor (and possibly the top dog) now runs the risk of losing over 8,000 direct votes, not to mention all of the negative word-of-mouth that is circulating. The person that sent this information to us is highly reliable and we would put our life on the validity of the information received. This person made a very good point that public officials in Langley would be wise to consider. This person pointed out that volunteers are very valuable gems in our community and as they work for free, one should respect and not trash them. Perhaps this person phrased it better by saying, "Langley is a community of parent volunteers. I won't question the integrity of a volunteer."

So What's The Plan?

Today's Langley Advance published a letter by Dan Sheel. Dan is a switched on Township resident, parks & recreation volunteer and sports coach for many years. He is also a Surrey Fire Fighter. Dan Sheel asks the question that all Township residents should be asking. What is Mayor Green's plan to produce zero percent tax increases over the next 3 years and not bankrupt the TOL?

Dan rightly points out that the full facts of the Township finances have been known and public for some time. Despite being aware of these facts, Green promised a zero-zero-zero tax increase pedge over the next 3 years and said that he would repeal the 5% increase slated for 2009. Mayor Green was in the Town Hall directly after the election and has therefore been working fulltime for a month and a half. So what's the plan? It is only fair to TOL taxpayers that we know the full plan that Mayor Green intends to enter into budget talks with and we need to know up front so that he can't put the blame on any members of council. Over the past month we have seen considerable back-peddling by Mayor Green and he uses the art of maintaining a level of deniability to sneak away and attempt to lay blame on others.

You can demand that Mayor Green release his budget and tax plans to the public by emailing Mayor Green and council at mayorandcouncil@tol.bc.ca . Emailing both will ensure that the mayor is held accountable and your message will be seen by all. Request that the mayor reveal to all TOL residents his budget and tax plans for 2009-2011 now so that we have time to review them BEFORE the budget meetings. At the very least he should have an action plan ready for 2009.

You Can Talk the Talk or You Can Walk the Walk

For the past little bit we Township folks have heard much hot air from politicians that are purporting to have extensive business experience and credentials. This same minority then try to use this so-called experience and credentials to sell their "watchdog" approach to civic politics and the fiscal accountability line. Our Editorial Board is full of successful men and women. We all agree that most academics that we have come into contact with in the business world have lots of theories and book knowledge, but couldn't manage a small summer lemonade stand if their lives depended on it. This is why most young people these days begin their "education" the day they start their first real job. It is also why Bill Gates decided to drop out and do something with his mind and skills sooner rather than later. Not a good testament to educators eh? It is not something we recommend, but with the state of academics today, one has to wonder.

It is very easy to claim things during an election locally, as no one has the time or money to check. But after the election if the candidate is successful, you can look at their voting records, what they say and what they do as a signal of whether their expertise is a fantasy of their minds. One of the most fascinating bit of business advice this editor received many years ago was a simple statement. "How you do anything is how you do everything". What you do and how you do it impacts everything you do. I you constantly cry wolf in business or politics, people will soon tune you out. If you pander to those vocal elements in the community you will soon get shunned by the mainstream. If you propose fool-hearty motions you will soon be ignored by your colleagues and enjoy very little respect among them.

If you profess to be pillar of financial accountability and watchdog-ism, then how you do anything is how you do everything, right? Well, examine these expense reports from various TOL council members. Not that it would explain such a high amount, but how many on this list have full-time jobs and how many actually attend many meetings because they are retired and can? If you have a fulltime job, wouldn't you be expected to spend less taxpayer dollars? Wouldn't you at least be expected to spend less than that of a fulltime mayor?

You be the judge. But just remember this wise saying... How you do anything is how you do everything. Don't by fooled by politicians masquerading as watchdogs.

2006

Mel Kositsky $11,386
Kim Richter $9,001
Grant Ward $6,388
Bob Long $5,786
Steve Ferguson $5,119
Kurt Alberts $3,577
Howie Vickberg $818
Jordan Bateman $240
Charlie Fox $0

2007

Bob Long $8,007
Grant Ward $7,615
Kim Richter $6,641
Mel Kositsky $6,547
Steve Ferguson $4,936
Kurt Alberts $2,419
Jordan Bateman $1,137
Howie Vickberg $562
Charlie Fox $238

Taxes and Downloading

Today's The Province newspaper carries an an editorial on property tax increases mainly in Vancouver. Vancouver says the 6-13% tax hikes over the next year are due to an expected drop in revenues as the economy declines, annual wage increases for city workers, 96 new police officers and 22 civilian staff for the VPD as well.

The article also mentions the downloading of costs from the provincial and federal orders down to municipal governments. Township Councillor Mel Kositsky often reminds us that only 8% or 8 cents of every federal tax dollar makes its way to municipalities.

In the Township we are not getting 96 new police officers, but police, fire and public safety in general account for about 48% of our TOL budget. If you add in wage increases required by collective bargaining agreements, salaries account for somewhere in the neighbourhood of 87% of the TOL budget. This means that apart from wages and benefits, the Towsnhip is actually pretty lean and we are not the big spenders that a very small number of people would like us to believe.

The Towsnhip was slated to have a 5% increase in property taxes. The value of many homes in the TOL have been impacted downward by the economic meltdown. In fact, the Provincial government recently announced that they will use the 2007 BC Assessment values for collection of property taxes in 2008.

Mayor Green has stated several times that he would scrap the Township's approved plan to increase taxes by 5%. Latest discussions center around cuts in programs and increases in user fees. But aren't increases in user fees much the same as the tax increase? You might say that increases in user fees collect the cash from the people using various services, but aren't these Towsnhip services to be enjoyed by all? Many of us have no children in school yet we help pay for them. It's a slippery slope if you want to divide services and the dedicated responsibility to pay for them.

Now that Mayor Green has had over a month to examine the budget and receive consultation from senior staff it will be interesting to see where the TOL budget process goes in 2009. While none of us like paying more taxes, a 5% increase based on the amount and quality of what we receive is reasonable in our opinion. Perhaps Mayor Green will see the wisdom in this conservative proposal.