I would like to comment on the statement made by Councillor Tait in the Sooke News Mirror (April 30) that in the current budget “there was no monies set aside for maintenance and upkeep for even the municipal hall.”
The budget document actually shows an item in bold print called “Building Maintenance” with a total amount provided for 2014 of $55,525. There are also other line items in the budget providing for maintenance and upkeep of vehicles and other equipment and for future asset replacement.
I would also like to point out to Councillor Tait that the Finance and Administration Committee is comprised of volunteers who are there to assist and advise council so that they can become fiscally responsible. The previous council put the district in a financial hole that the current council has had to dig itself out from. This has been accomplished by establishing fiscal restraint policies and more accurate reporting procedures as suggested by the F & A Committee.
The District finances are now in the best shape they have been in for many years and for Councillor Tait to suggest that the Finance and Administration Committee should be dismantled only goes to highlight the reason why the committee was established in the first place.
Jim Mitchell
Sooke