It was a letter Columbia Shuswap District directors and staff welcomed.
On March 2, Peter Fassbender, minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, wrote to CSRD chair Rhona Martin to inform her of his decision to fund a governance study in Electoral Area C (South Shuswap) of the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD).
A $50,000 grant will be provided to the regional district to undertake that study.
The purpose of the study is to provide South Shuswap communities with information on the current governance system by: identifying all local services and service providers, including costs and methods of cost recovery; describing any concurrent service geographies and how decisions are made in relation to services; and, engaging residents and property owners in the identification of common interests and concerns.
“It is anticipated that upon completion of the study, the CSRD Board would fully consider its recommendations,” read Fassbender’s letter. “This could include consideration of enhancements within the current regional district system such as requesting change to the electoral area boundary, or by developing a sub-regional service structure in the South Shuswap, or of potential further study work.”
The success of the study will be enhanced by development of a robust process and clear expectations for process participants, he noted.
The study is to be managed by a volunteer community-based committee appointed by the CSRD board. The committee will oversee the work of one or more consultants with expertise in local government and community engagement who will be retained by the CSRD to carry out the study.
The study will be guided by the terms of reference developed by the CSRD in conjunction with Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development staff.
The ministry will follow up with CSRD administration with respect to the terms and conditions of this grant and the transfer of funds.
“I am quite pleased about this, said CSRD chief administrative officer Charles Hamilton with a smile. “Some would say we have been working on it for decades.