The City of Nanaimo has again made a mistake with its management of the alternative approval process related to planned public works yard improvements.
The city issued a press release Monday, Feb. 5, advising that last week, staff identified an error in the AAP process that is currently happening as voters are being asked to approve long-term borrowing of $48.5 million for the first phase of the Nanaimo Operations Centre project.
The city says the legislation requires that elector response forms be made available on the day of the first notice of the AAP, but the city didn’t make the forms available until the AAP was underway, a little more than a week later.
Mayor and council have directed staff to pursue legal advice and options for next steps, and a special council meeting will be scheduled for further discussion of the matter. In the meantime, the city will continue with the current AAP.
The CON Oversight Society, a group opposing the city’s use of alternative approval, issued its own press release several hours before the city’s release.
“This result is an invalid AAP and further loss to Nanaimo citizens in wasted expenditure of public funds as well as the public’s time and energy submitting forms that have no value, not to mention loss of trust in the mayor and council’s administration of our city,” noted CON Oversight Society spokesperson Noni Bartlett in the release.
The City of Nanaimo previously held an AAP this past fall to try to secure elector approval to borrow $48.5 million, but that process was negated due to a legislative error.
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