By EARL ROOK
Salt Spring Local Community Commission chair
In the 2022 general election, Salt Spring approved a new government entity, the Local Community Commission (LCC). Just over a year ago, four new local commissioners were sworn in, joining the local Capital Regional District (CRD) director on the first Salt Spring LCC.
Our first year was spent setting up and making the new LCC operational, diving deeply into the details of the CRD services delegated to the LCC, and confronting the most significant issues facing our community. One’s view on the success of our first year may depend upon your perspective, but from my perspective as chair, a good start has been made. Some highlights include:
The LCC instituted a regular, predictable, public meeting schedule for the second and third Thursdays of each month, the former at 5 p.m. to make it easier for working residents to attend. Holding regular evening business meetings was a priority for the LCC from the beginning. Making it happen took several months of negotiations and planning, an object lesson in the challenges of making even seemingly simple changes.
One of the first major tasks for the new LCC was the review and approval of the 2024 budget for LCC delegated services. The initial budget came in at over 200 pages with a year over year increase of 20.5 per cent. After delving into the details over many meetings, we approved a final budget in February that maintained current service levels with an increase limited to 10.5 per cent. A crash course in the arcane world of CRD budgeting, the process called for difficult choices, while exposing long-term fiscal concerns (maintaining adequate reserves, funding capital projects) that will need ongoing attention. The LCC is already at work on the 2025 budget.
At one of its first meetings, the LCC declared that housing for working people and their families is Salt Spring Island’s most pressing economic sustainability issue. We moved that the CRD Board endorse adding Salt Spring to the provincial Speculation and Vacancy Tax program, and formally requested revision of the economic sustainability bylaw to maximize our allowable scope of activity. We held a housing summit with stakeholders to clarify the role of the LCC in housing and are working the housing crisis on multiple fronts.
As the new player in our fragmented local government, the LCC has made a priority of collaboration with other government bodies and non-profits. In addition to the housing summit, we have begun regular joint meetings with the Salt Spring Island Local Trust Committee, to coordinate work on issues of common interest, including revision of the official community plan, housing, water, Ganges revitalization and harbour management.
Our strategic plan for the remainder of the term will be published soon. Among top priorities are housing (particularly for workers and the unhoused), liquid waste and Ganges village revitalization, including the long delayed harbour walk project. We also plan a review of local bylaws and operating procedures, development of a more sustainable and transparent budgeting process, and expansion of the initial LCC mandate to more island CRD services. Stay tuned — we’re just getting started.