As stated in a previous editorial, the issue of the Fee for Service grant denied to the Sooke Region Tourism Association is not over.
Mayor Wendal Milne, although he is recovering from surgery, said the issue is coming back to council for another look. He said he doesn’t want Sooke to lose the opportunity to promote the town although he is disappointed at the reluctance of SRTA to provide what was required for the grant. He wants to do what is best for the whole community.
So the ball is now in SRTA’s court and the one thing they have to realize is that the district is the referee in this game. No one group or organization should ever consider they are entitled to any money from the district, and following the rules, whether they agree or not, is the way to play the grant game. It is still up to council to make the decision on whether to rescind their previous decision.
Running and managing the district is like running any large corporation. Business plans and fiscal responsibility are crucial to the survival of any business, big or small. Sooke is a big corporation in the business of running a town with 11,000 residents. The shareholders are the taxpayers and the staff are the employees, while council is the governing board. Corporations have an aim to make a profit to the shareholders, the District of Sooke has an aim to balance the budget and maybe have some money left over that could be called profit. It’s a money game and the rules are simple... accountability in all aspects.