Area around Goolden Hall has become a slum
Re: “Alix Goolden Hall has become a fortress,” letter, March 22.
You might say the letter regarding the effective siege of the Alix Goolden Performance Hall next to Our Place on Pandora Avenue has struck a chord with me.
I used to attend many enjoyable concerts at the hall; now it has been made impossible.
Many artists were genuinely impressed with the venue. Emmylou Harris referred to it as “a jewel box of a building.”
Through the benighted negligence and unwillingness of our politicians, particularly our municipal politicians, to take firm and effective action, this area has become a slum, one that is visibly metastasizing throughout the downtown area and beyond.
The “OUR DTWN” banners are sadly laughable. Someone else has been stabbed in the centre of town at midday and many are afraid to go downtown.
And “Tiny Town” is set to reopen after many broken promises that it was only temporary and that there would be increased and effective security.
Residents must now brace for the resumption of elevated levels of crime in the North Park neighbourhood. It has been reported that it will be run by Our Place.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Ian MacDonell
Victoria
Increase the salaries, but not right away
Re: “Higher pay for councillors is in the public interest,” commentary, March 23.
Victoria Coun. Jeremy Caradonna wrote a very open self-review commentary of his 16 months in City Hall. I agree it was time for a remuneration review, and it makes sense to raise the salaries of councillors. But…
It is incredulous to read his excuses why he deserves a 25 per cent raise immediately, and not have it start after the next election in two years.
Caradonna names Colwood, Oak Bay, Central Saanich, and Sooke voting themselves wage increases. Every one of them had their increases after the next election, not after less than two years into the job.
His last line was rich. “Good governance requires a level of service and dedication that fair wages can enable.”
Does he imply that if he doesn’t get this raise on May 1, he will reduce his level of service and dedication to the citizens of Victoria?
Would he be willing to give his raise to local charities, as his fellow councillor Marg Gardiner has pledged, until the next election in 2026? Highly doubtful.
The councillors who voted against this immediate pay hike will be remembered in the future for doing the right thing, even though they are also living in a world of high inflation and a soaring cost of living.
Higher pay for councillors is in the public interest. Indeed, it is not in the public interest to not get the citizens opinion first, and not good governance, or integrity.
Mur Meadows
Victoria
Let the public decide about council pay
The undue and disrespectful haste with which the Victoria council majority introduced and passed a fundamental redefinition of their terms of employment (to full-time) is testimony to the weakness of their position on the matter.
While some of the words spoken during the debate sounded reasonable, as do some of those used by Coun. Jeremy Caradonna, the breach of principle cannot be papered over.
Does any of this sound persuasive?
1. The last council is to blame for not doing their job.
2. There was a salary study done (with no recommendations.)
3. According to this study, of the 18 cities surveyed across Canada, none of the three cities with full-time councils were in B.C.
4. Other councils did it, too. (Irrelevant, since council positions do not constitute a labour market open to outside competition. Candidates have to run and win to receive pay from a municipality.)
As to “full-time,” taxpayers should recall Parkinson’s Law, whereby “the duration of public administration, bureaucracy and officialdom expand to fill the time span, regardless of the work to be done.”
And if, as the councillor suggests “higher pay is in the public interest,” then let the public decide by postponing the salary and job change until after the next election.
John Treleaven
Sidney
They get a raise, and a slogan as well
How good of Victoria Coun. Jeremy Caradonna to let us know that those opposed to the 25 per cent raise the Gang of Five voted themselves are also against fairness, the public interest, and promoting diversity.
I mistakenly thought that the concern was Caradonna and his colleagues not following the recommendations of the city’s own MNP review, sliding the raise forward at the last minute, and breaching the established principle that politicians must not set their own wage increase.
In fact, so good, apparently, is this increase engineered among themselves, that if they dare run for re-election they should cite it as one of their highest accomplishments.
At least the five have a new re-election slogan. “Vote for me. I need a job.”
Thanks to the mayor and councillors Stephen Hammond and Marg Gardiner for not falling prey to the nonsense being used to rationalize bad behaviour.
Norm Macphee
Victoria
Other council raises were for after elections
Victoria Coun. Jeremy Caradonna mentions four municipal councils that voted in favour of raising their salaries in 2022 and 2023.
He does so in an apparent attempt to justify Victoria council’s recent vote to increase their own salaries.
A quick internet search reveals that the Oak Bay, Colwood and Sooke raises are to take effect following the next municipal election, i.e., new councils.
Perhaps Caradonna missed that news. Or just chose to ignore an inconvenient truth?
Beverley Bowes
Victoria
Use median income as a starting point
Without hesitation, I do not see how cities can continue to attract the necessary talent and commitment if wages are not fair.
I sit on a few private company boards, which meet from once a month to quarterly.
Most professional boards pay $60,000 to $80,000 a year for very part-time work.
For the long hours councillors put in, I suggest the area’s median income should be the starting point with extra for drawn-out public hearings.
Rick Ilich
Vancouver
That council raise does not mean much
Last year, the top five employees of the B.C. government got a 16 per cent pay raise. All of them are paid more than $500,000 a year. The top spot at the University of B.C. was paid more than $900,000.
A quick math calculation and you see that just one of those folks got more than all the Victoria councillors and the mayor combined.
Where is the outrage?
Rick Fonger
Shirley
To serve the community, roll back that raise
Victoria’s mayor and councillors, roll back your proposed raise. It is wrong. It is an insult to each of the constituents, every business owner and worker in the community. That you decided the amount and granted it to yourselves in such a short time, without public input, is a conflict of interest.
Quite frankly, it is wrong.
If you don’t like the job, the hours, the work, the remuneration, then look somewhere else for employment. Don’t saddle taxpayers with your desire to get a handsome, full-time salary for part-time work. And, in the same meeting, practically in the same breath, start coming up with make-work projects to fill up extra time, because suddenly it’s become a full-time job. It’s not.
And, for those who are also employed elsewhere, if you do manage to get this increase, then I expect you to tender your resignation or take a leave of absence for any other employment.
I don’t live in Victoria, but our businesses are Victoria. And our taxes have been increased to subsidize council’s whims and ideology, and now this pie-in-the-sky raise.
Councillors Jeremy Caradonna, Dave Thompson, Krista Loughton, Matt Dell and Susan Kim, you should all resign. You do not know what it means to serve your community. You think the community is there to serve (and over-pay) you. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Please roll back the proposed raise.
Wendy Webb
Saanich
Increase council pay as they gain experience
Like many others, I am disturbed and astounded at Victoria council’s self-serving position on the raise they propose for themselves.
While they may feel underpaid, they ran for the council position aware of the remuneration. At approximately $65,000, with potential board stipends, and benefits, it is not an insignificant salary when no particular skill set is required.
To move the salary range into the $95,000-plus range seems massive overreach. At that salary range professional expertise is expected; perhaps engineering, accountant, human resources, etc., and a full-time commitment.
It was distressing to learn that only two councillors are not engaged in other careers. Where is their commitment to the position and to justify the proposed multi-thousand-dollar salary increase?
It is clear in watching council meetings that many councillors are struggling to understand the issues with which they are dealing. Their workload has been significantly diminished with the province negating many public meeting’s hours.
Perhaps a better approach would be to align council remunerations with city staff remuneration.
First year councillors receive the pay equivalents of the city’s part-time new hires, with the remuneration increasing year by year to reflect their familiarization with their jobs and their credentials.
Over their four-year term they could reasonably be expected to bring a level of job specific knowledge to their positions and achieve a pay grade relevant to their professional credentials.
The voting public would then either support or discontinue their new career choice in the next election.
Bob June
Victoria
Thompson deserves a larger increase
I am one of many who are justly critical of past councils and of quite a few of the decisions of Victoria’s current council. I support the calls for council to stay in their lane.
Coun. Marg Gardiner wrote in opposition to the recent pay increase council voted for itself.
To give balance, though, I must say how amazing Coun. Dave Thompson is.
I have had a small commercial building in the 1000 block of Fort Street for almost 40 years and we could seldom get a response from councillors on anything.
This term, however, Thompson is the council liaison for downtown and Harris Green and he responds to everything; he acts on everything; and he follows up on everything.
I have never seen the like and quite honestly he is worth double the salary council have just given themselves.
Jason Austin
Victoria
SEND US YOUR LETTERS
• Email letters to: [email protected]
• Mail: Letters to the editor, Times Colonist, 201-655 Tyee Rd., Victoria, B.C. V9A 6X5
• Submissions should be no more than 250 words; subject to editing for length and clarity. Provide your contact information; it will not be published. Avoid sending your letter as an email attachment.
