Penticton council needs a core study

Re: “Penticton locks in 9.5 per cent tax hike (Herald, March 17).

I write this letter realizing that some are going to say that I do not live there any more so why should I say anything.

I guess because Penticton was my home and still has a place in my heart. In addition, I also have many friends there who pay taxes, as well as myself.

In my opinion, this new council missed an opportunity to commission a true core study.

For those of you who wonder what a core study is I will set it out.

A core study looks in this case at the municipality and the programs it offers along with the number of staff. Staffing and programs have ballooned over the past few years and I believe we have more than 300 employees full time.

The budget keeps climbing, yet Council has not taken the time to go line by line through the budget deal with irrelevant or non-productive programs. They just keep adding and adding.

Governments at all levels should have core studies every five years say to eliminate unnecessary or improperly working programs.

This also necessitates them getting into the budget more than accepting the staff recommendations. Do not get me wrong. Staff are great, but a municipality is run by staff, directed by council.

Anyway, the last core study we did was in or around 2010. It’s time Council to get your teeth into this.