Columbia Valley Pioneer staff
The District of Invermere will hold its annual budget open house this week (January 9, 5-7 p.m. at Columbia Valley Centre), giving the public a chance to get information on and ask questions about finances for the coming year.
But if number crunching doesn’t interest you, there’s more: the district has also transformed this year’s event into a municipal showcase. Various municipal departments will set up booths with staff members on hand to answer queries and to explain what they do and how they do it.
“We wanted to do something different, something more interactive,” explained Invermere mayor Al Miller.
There will also be food, possibly even with district staff members getting a chance to show off their barbecue skills.
The new approach is the latest tweak the district has put on its annual budget open house to try to attract more members of the public. In recent years, citizen turnout at budget open houses has been quite low – often numbering in the single digits. Council has in the past tried various tactics to draw a bigger crowd; by changing venues, offering pizza dinner for attendees, and by holding the meetings in local coffee shops.
“None of those really worked too well,” conceded Miller, adding that the coffee shop method was perhaps the best, since it resulted in relatively more people reached. But even then many of those attendees were “caught off guard,” unaware they were part of a budget meeting, he noted.
Even if the attendance is low again this year, the budget open house is important — residents need a chance to examine the inner workings of their local government, said Miller.
“We try to make sure every penny counts, but at the same time to not forget about important projects, such as infrastructure upgrades that need to be looked after,” he said.
One infrastructure project in particular in this year’s budget should catch attention: the Fort Point bridge. A new bridge is badly needed and has been in the works for several years. It’s scheduled to go ahead in 2025.
“It’s an eyesore and it’s also something that’s caused frustration,” said Miller.
For months the aging state of the bridge has resulted in weight restrictions. These have meant trucks and other heavy vehicles entering or leaving Fort Point have needed to detour around via the Station Pub instead of using the bridge.
Miller isn’t too worried about the continual low turnout at budget meetings.
“Generally speaking, when people are unhappy with something, they let us know,” he said. The lack of concerned or angry residents at the budget open house could be a sign that “a lot of people have a good understanding of the job we are doing, and they feel confident,” he said.
