Surrey Councillor Linda Annis wants Surrey’s taxpayers to see the policing report they paid for. Annis said council’s in-camera review Wednesday highlighted some really shocking content and conclusions which taxpayers need to see, particularly since they paid for the report.
“While I can’t talk about what we saw and heard yesterday in-camera, I think there are a number of key details that would shock our community when it comes to the numbers and the size of the proposed Surrey force,” added Annis. “Taxpayers paid for the report and they have every right to see the details and ask the hard questions. Frankly, all of this secrecy and behind-closed-doors decision making flies in the face of full transparency, something you’d expect from any police department. I want complete transparency and public consultation where people have the all the facts and can ask serious questions.”
Annis said the city’s so-called public consultation process, which starts this afternoon at the Cloverdale Rec Centre, is really nothing more than a “sales pitch” with few details, no numbers and no accountability to local taxpayers.
“These sessions aren’t real consultation, they’re simply information sessions,” said Annis. “This should have been an open process, instead it is completely closed to the community, and that’s not right,” added Annis. “Public consultation without the public seeing the report is ridiculous, it makes absolutely no sense at all. Our taxpayers deserve better and they should say so at the Cloverdale Rec Centre today. Councillors got the chance to see the report yesterday for the first time and it raised plenty of serious questions and lots of practical concerns, particularly when you realize this is the largest single budget item for our city.”
Annis will be at the Cloverdale Rec Centre today, 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm.
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