Picture this: you’re shopping for a new car, and the dealership has a tempting deal. They’ll deliver a brand-new vehicle right to your driveway—as soon as you wire them the money. But there’s a catch. You don’t get to choose the colour, the model, or the features. Would you take the deal? No dice, right?
That’s precisely why it’s worth your time—and money—to drive, bike, or stroll over to the Brennan Park Recreation Centre this Thursday evening for the District of Squamish’s Budget Open House from 6 pm to 8 pm. This will be an evening worth your time. The budget documents are brimming with details to dissect, question, and scrutinize.
The who’s who of the District’s administration will be there to answer your questions. Despite their long and officious-sounding titles, they are fellow tax-paying citizens who will be happy to field queries on why the district plans to spend $200,000 on a new RCMP exhibit tent or $150,000 on a Beach Groomer or why $100,000 must go to do a pond-scoping study on Third Ave.
The evening promises more gloss and charm. The Squamish council will be in attendance, and hopefully, they will be prepared to address your questions with practiced ease. Feel free to ask why the district plans to spend $450,000 on the circular economy, $695,000 on a bike lane for Victoria Street, or why we’re all staring at a 9.6% tax increase.
It’s a paradox, but these official meetings can be more engaging than they sound. Sure, the phrase “five-year financial plan” might not inspire visions of a lively evening out, but you will leave the open house informed, empowered and perhaps even entertained.
Your presence is also a message. In giving input, we are also, to some extent, wresting control from officials and elected representatives about where our hard-earned money is going. Even a routine open house can become a turning point for change—if enough of us show up.
Gagandeep Ghuman is the editor of the Squamish Reporter
Comments