Letter from Tony Heemskerk re: Amalgamation Governance Study

Mayor and Council, Town of View Royal, 45 View Royal Ave., Victoria, BC, V9B 1A6

January 7, 2015

Dear Mayor and Council,

Congratulations on your election November 15th, 2014.

The Premier and the Minister of Community Development, Sport and Culture have committed to a governance study in news releases and announcements — a study endorsed by the majority at the ballot box throughout the Capital Region. 75% of Greater Victorians who cast referendum ballots in the November municipal elections voted in favour. Despite the varied questions, they provided clear direction that they wanted a governance review.

It is in the best interests of your municipality to be part of a Provincially-led study, even though you did not have a question on the ballot.

In anticipation of the work to be undertaken, our Board has developed a draft set of guidelines (attached) for the Provincially-led study. The overarching framework of the guidelines is that it must be unbiased, inclusive and timely.

These guidelines have been submitted to the Province and we invite your comments.

It is clear that the public has expressed a strong desire for a governance review and is expecting full cooperation from municipalities as work gets underway. As the Premier has noted "There is only one taxpayer".

We look forward to hearing of your actions in this regard and request notification of when Council will be discussing this action item.

Yours truly,

Tony Heemskerk Chair, Amalgamation Yes www.amalgamationyes.ca amalgamateyes@gmail.com

cc: Premier Christie Clark Coralee Oakes, Minister of Community Development, Sport and Culture Becky Denlinger, Deputy Minister of Community Development, Sport and Culture

Attachment: Study Guidelines