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Union Bay lacks a strategic plan

Recent letters to the papers discussing UBID concern resident.

Dear editor,

My partner and I are new to Union Bay (UB), we both love being here. Our neighbours are fabulous – thank you all for your warm welcome.

Recent letters to the papers discussing UBID, have concerned me. First, many are personal and nasty, and second, they raise issues on UBID which are troubling to myself and probably to many other UB residents. Being new, I decided to do a little research into UBID, so I contacted staff to learn more about the history, operations and the situation regarding trustee elections. Staff were informative and candid, nothing I was told or saw indicated UBID was in disarray.

I would like to offer comments on what I did not find in my research. I did not see a formal strategic plan for UBID services; I did ask if one existed. Please do not confuse this with the already identified need for a new treatment plant and fire hall. A strategic plan is a much broader look at services – it identifies challenges, threats, opportunities and a range of options for the entire service. Directly coupled to this is the financial evaluation of the options. Financial information should clearly show capital and operational costs, financing methods and the property taxation and user fee impact on all the options. It is the lack of this last part that I find to be the most disconcerting. I want to better understand the financial status of UBID because property taxation and user fees must be sustainable and affordable.  Respectfully, more work needs to be done in planning for UBID.

I understand that people can become very personal on public issues. A respectful exchange of ideas and solutions is the best way to go forward. We have a wonderful community.

John France

Union Bay