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Letter: Referendum needed on tourist centre

Stand up, Kelowna citizens, and say you have had enough
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To the editor:

You can’t blame the citizens of Kelowna for giving up when it comes to things like this tourism building. They have been bullied and beaten down by some manager-employees in City Hall for years. Nor can you really blame these manager-employees for their behaviour because they were taught this behaviour when first hired.

Manager-employees are employees just like the employees they manage. Employees are usually hired directly by an owner, or else by staff in human resources who are themselves employees. Employees are given duties, not rights to spend our money without permission.

Bosses, often a group of people, pay employee salaries, the costs of running the business or city, and the upkeep of property. In this case, city property which is owned by the citizens as a group. Because the citizens pay these expenses through taxation they are the legal bosses in Kelowna. As such, they have the right to make final decisions with the use of referendums. If referendums are too expensive, that is a decision for the citizens to make. Not manager-employees.

Given the above, obviously these manager-employees in city hall have absolutely no right to come up with these projects and then ram them down the unwilling throats of Kelowna’s taxpayers. This tourism building is a classic example of such projects. Judging by employee response, the building was a done deal before it was ever presented to the public.

Referendums in Kelowna? Refer..what? Vernon and Penticton have not had any referendums lately because they haven’t done things that were big enough. I asked. The regional district in Vernon has had two in the recent past. Again, I asked. One for a second sheet of ice in the rink and one for a sports complex near the college.

Stand up, Kelowna citizens, and say you have had enough. Bullying disappears when fought by people. Lots of people. Lot’s of really fed up people. I just stood up because I am really, really fed up. Please, for your sake, do the same.

Bruce R. H Brown, Kelowna