Get everyone involved in community decisions

Victoria taxpayers were surprised to learn that five council members spearheaded a 25 per cent pay hike motion with Mayor Marianne Alto ruling it in order, despite no prior review or scrutiny normally given to motions at council meetings.

There was no public input sought for this irresponsible action in light of constituents coping with the third highest cost of living expenses in Canada.

I find it an ironic plan for Alto to recently announce that Victoria residents will now have the opportunity to “offer their thoughts on safety” to the mayor’s 10-member task force via surveys and focus groups.

Why was this kind of proper governance and transparency not applied with regard to the outrageous pay increase? There are 12 active neighbourhood associations, with one council member in attendance at each month’s meetings.

Why are the city’s elected officials not using these organizations with high numbers of well-informed and involved community citizens to optimize communication between council and local citizens?

If this type of meaningful and direct involvement was used and citizens trusted that their input was acknowledged in the final decision-making process, community members would feel more encouraged to participate in civic affairs.

These extra additional task forces and focus groups with hand-picked committee members just add to the trend of governing bodies ignoring, stonewalling, and discouraging authentic constituent participation at the municipal level.

Elizabeth Kozak Victoria