- Postpone the new Trust Policy Statement until the next Trustee election, October 2022.
- The Trustees are trying to push through their new powers near the end of their term- meaning they know if they ran for re-election next year on this mandate they would probably be defeated.
- Such sweeping changes should be the subject of an election platform, and each Trustee should state his/her support or objections, so the public can vote knowing what their local representatives stand for.
- After the election, with consensus from residents, yes, update the Trust Policy Statement taking into consideration today’s issues. But stay true to your legal and moral duty: Preserve and Protect for the residents. Remember:
- The residents of the Gulf Islands elected you.
- The residents pay for your salaries, expenses, and ever-ballooning staff.
- Leave us in peace. Our homes are where we live, raise our families, take refuge from the busy world. Our homes represent the majority of the equity and security most of us have, especially in these uncertain times. Respect, instead of obstructing, the taxpayers, their property, their livelihoods, their feelings.
- In the information you give to the public about your proposed Revised Policy Statement, include the opinions of the large number of residents who feel you are over-stepping your elected mandate.
- Why? Because you are using our money to hire costly consultants to give people a one-sided story.
Let’s scrap this resident-unfriendly Revised Policy Statement and start over, together, as friends and equals. After the election, come up with a new mandate that fairly and wisely balances sensitive ecological stewardship with the normal needs and rights of the residents and property owners. You are intelligent and wise- you can make the residents happy and the environment too. If you succeed, everyone will praise and support you. We are counting on your leadership.