How the LCC Can Serve You Better
As part of my learning curve while running for Local Community Commissioner, I’ve been attending LCC meetings, including the hours-long provisional budget meeting which was fascinating. (OK, I’m a deliberative process nerd) What struck me so strongly is how dynamic the LCC is, making decisions, advancing projects or turning them down. They get sh*t done over there!
Now I realize the response from many readers to that will be: “What’s the LCC?” If you already know, please talk to people who don’t before the election, because the LCC has the capability of building on past progress to become a critical factor in all of our lives in the way it serves us. My short version is: “Our local government is divided into different agencies. The Islands Trust and its Local Trust Committee do the land use, including zoning. The CRD and its local arm, the LCC, do services. Then there’s our Fire Improvement District and our 17 water districts.” (A discussion for another time.)
The LCC has evolved a lot since it was created nearly 4 years ago, and it’s set to evolve more. Brian Webster, who’s running for CRD Electoral Area Director, is proposing to make the LCC fully democratic with all decisions made by the majority of commissioners, with the Director holding just one of five votes. He is also arguing for all local services to be brought under the purview of the LCC, so that all decisions about Salt Spring will be decided, democratically, right here on Salt Spring. (Only bylaws, including the annual budget bylaw, would go to the CRD Board for approval.) The evolution may include Commissioners having “portfolios”, areas they specialize in to make the group more productive and efficient. Reserves will be rebuilt. And most exciting to me, the LCC will take the lead to make our government work better.
Ganges Harbour is a perfect example. Most people don’t know that the second harbour workshop led to staff being directed to set up a multi-agency meeting with all the players: HASSI, RCMP, First Nations, CRD, Islands Trust, the Province and others, plus of course the Salt Springers who are living on the water. The harbour issue has been stuck for a long time, because jurisdiction is complex and layered, but the LCC knows that action can’t wait any longer. People – Salt Springers – are in dire need of help out there. The LCC is ready to break the logjam and lead.
This is what inspires me the most, and clinched my desire to run for Commissioner. My work on Salt Spring over the past several years has included a variety of projects, in partnership with others, from fundraising for the Community Park to putting on the Indigenous Peoples Weekend, to housing, climate, food security and environmental protection. All of these critical issues are interconnected, and I know that I can help as the LCC takes the lead on complex issues within tight budget parameters. Collaboration with non-profits and the private sector will be critical to get you the services you need while keeping taxes low.
Most on my mind right now is wildfires. You may have seen the recent articles by Transition Salt Spring and CRD Emergency Services, telling us what we all know: we’ve been lucky here on Salt Spring, but our luck isn’t going to last forever. We have to take action to protect our forests and our homes. It’s going to take strategy and collaboration, because it’ll require forest management, invasives removal, coordination with FireSmart, maybe community rain catchment and even controlling the deer population to revive our over-browsed understory and increase resilience.
Critical and complex action like that won’t happen by accident. It’ll take leadership and a lot of solid working relationships, and listening to the smart ideas that our community has to offer. I want to be part of that, and if I get your vote, I promise to work hard to make the LCC serve you better, no matter what the future brings.
— Pam
