Ratepayers address municipal inspection report

Ratepayer's Association meeting
J. MacFarlane photo

Joni MacFarlane, Crowsnest Voice

Several candidates for municipal council made a pitch for voter support at a Crowsnest Pass Ratepayers Association meeting last night.

As the last regularly scheduled meeting by the organization before the election, it was an opportunity for candidates to introduce themselves and discuss issues they want addressed.

Association President Bill Kovach made it clear that any of the current executive members who are successful in their bid for a council seat will resign their Ratepayers position.

Kovach also spoke briefly on the inspection report conducted by Russell Farmer & Associates Consulting Ltd.


On the positive side, he said a total of 71 people were interviewed for the report, it was completed on time, and the issues presented meant it would surely become a campaign issue.

“Our mayor and council are going to have one slant on the report and we are going to have a different slant on the report and that’s okay, but this is my take on the report,” he said.

After going through it, said Kovach, there were only a few things he found disappointing.

First, everything the ratepayers said was “perceived to be” but everything council or administration said was “gospel”.

“If it’s perceived, then to me, there wasn’t enough research being done between what [Farmer] perceived we were thinking and what was actually the truth,” said Kovach.

Also, many of the statistics ended in 2011 and didn’t include current data.

Most glaring, said Kovach, was the comment that Crowsnest Pass had failed at amalgamation.

“I get so sick and tired of people saying we failed with this community. Since 1979 we’ve all worked together. We’ve sat on boards, we’ve volunteered on committees, we’ve volunteered to keep the mine going, a ski hill, a pool, a museum. You name it, we do everything together,” said Kovach. “Do we have problems? Of course we have problems, but we haven’t failed.”

Kovach said he was very pleased to see 87 recommendations but angered that one talked about a viability review.
The report confirmed, to Kovach, that the municipality was so busy passing bylaws and policies, that they “forgot to look at the business at hand”.

Kovach also said the report confirmed fees have increased, that there is poor communication with municipal staff and unionized employees, that taxes are high, that salaries and staffing levels of municipal employees are higher than comparative communities, that administration was moving money in the general ledgers, and that costs associated with the strategic plan have not been provided.

“[Farmer] recognized in… the costs for implementing the strategic plan versus our operations, there’s a problem,” Kovach told Ratepayers.

After this, candidates had the opportunity to address the meeting. Dave Filipuzzi, Blair Painter, Dean Ward, Sasha JaegerBaird, Ed Strembicki, Marlene Anctil, Doreen Glavin, and Bill Kovach provided a brief introduction. John Prince chose not to comment and no incumbents were present.

Other issues raised at the meeting were municipal staff dissatisfaction and grievances, reduced Public Works staff, consultants hired by the municipality, council transparency, and communication problems with council and administration.

Several people commented on the removal of asbestos at the Crowsnest Centre and questioned the safety of the process.

Kovach encouraged people to get out vote and asked for volunteers to drive those who needed rides.

A public forum hosted by the Crowsnest Pass Chamber of Commerce will be held on Thursday, Oct. 10 at the MDM Community Complex at 7 p.m. A second forum is tentatively scheduled with the date to be determined.

Everyone is encouraged to attend and ask questions of the candidates.