I am Maxine Leichter, an independent candidate for fire trustee, running against a group running together who, if elected, will form a majority of the Board. Every member of the Board should have an equal voice. It may be that a majority of trustees are like-minded. But to have a block that does not need to consult with other trustees is not democracy. My husband is a paid-on-call support member of the Fire Department who performs communications, safety and logistics duties. That is how I became informed and concerned about our fire department. There is more to being a fire trustee than implementing the changes recommended in the Walker Report independent review. It is about setting the direction of an essential public service in an open, thoughtful and business-like way without reducing essential service levels, without diminishing community safety and without drastically increasing our homeowners’ fire insurance rates. It requires giving our firefighters the …

The recently delivered Walker and Firewise reports on the governance and operations of the fire district have been an eye opener for Salt Springers. Add to that the release of 2013 compensation figures for full time members of staff, and comments like, “The fire district seems to be adrift,” and “Who is running the show here?” and “It's time for some common sense,” are flying. We agree. It's time for a course correction. There is no need for panic or wild accusations: the Walker report concludes that fire service performance is on par or better than in other BC communities. However, twenty recommendations were made re necessary improvements in governance, and at least half a dozen more operational recommendations that suggest lapses in board oversight. The reports – for which we paid $40,000 – set ambitious timelines for resolving these open issues. Of the twenty Walker recommendations, seven have 45 day deadlines, indicating urgency. Despite this, the current board decided …