Maybe City of Powell River councillor Trina Isakson missed out on childhood fairy tales. Cutting the head off the goose that lays the golden eggs does not give access to all the eggs inside. Indeed, cutting the head off the goose renders the goose dead and the supply of eggs diminished to zero.
I watched the February 27 special council meeting webcast in horror as most city council members openly planned to lay siege to Powell River Community Forest’s yearly dividend [“City of Powell River CFO outlines taxation changes,” March 3].
Councillors discussed the creation of a “working group” led by Isakson, who would attempt to convince the community forest board of directors to embrace a new dividend disbursement formula, allowing the city to have unfettered access to the estimated $3,000,000 dividend to pour into the abyss of general revenues, leaving an annual 10 per cent stipend for nonprofits (approximately $250,000 to split between them all).
Councillor Jim Palm begged city council to first meet with the Powell River Community Forest board to grasp a better understanding of how things work before meddling with the nonprofit granting process.
Nonprofits of the city and region can seek elsewhere for their new Orca Bus, clubhouse roofs, covered equine training facilities and other special projects (prcommunityforest.ca/projects). And let’s not forget to mention scholarships funded by Powell River Community Forest.
Show up to the meetings and watch this council stagger from incompetent motion to incompetent decision to inept execution of each citizen-burdening, debt-ridden, gold-plated benefit for individual councillors. And if they have their way, maybe funded by Powell River Community Forest dividends.
Chair? Point of order!
Roger Whittaker,
Powell River
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