Dear editor,Brett Hall of CV Fitness is quite right in being unhappy with the competition to his and other private fitness centres by local government.To go one step further, why would local government be involved in a preschool as well?Local governments are there to provide services that would otherwise not be provided by individuals or even small groups. Public safety (fire and police) infrastructure (roads, water, sewer and garbage) recreational (playing fields, pools and ice rinks) to name a few.However, we should never compete with our taxpayers, especially if they are already out there providing services.If there is a concern that without subsidized fitness or subsidized preschool some people may not be able to afford private facilities, then let's work out a low-income pass to be used at private facilities.The world economy since 2008 has seen one crisis after another and it is time that local governments start taking this into account. Local governments, like you, need to live within their means.We can't compete with our taxpayers and in fact should be considering contracting out some of local governments to taxpayers.Murray Presley,Courtenay
Editor's note: Murray Presley is a member of Courtenay council, although he is not running for re-election.