By Sebastian Kanally, Times Chronicle
How much should the town pay for delegations to Oliver’s sister city, Bandai Japan?
This is the question that town council was recently dealing with at their January 6 meeting, as a result of the Town of Bandai reaching out for a delegation from Oliver to travel to their city in 2025.
Council agreed that the town should cover a maximum of 50 per cent of travel costs for council delegations travelling to sister cities.
During the discussion, councillor Petra Veintimilla quickly pointed out that in the past at different times, different things have been done to either fully or partially cover expenses, “it makes sense to solidify a plan going forward”.
“If these visits start to become more frequent, as they were in the past, and if council is specifically being requested by the city of Bandai to attend, then perhaps we put a limit of one partially funded visit per councillor per term, that might help to split it up.”
As for past sister city delegation travel, in 2004, council members were reimbursed for 50 per cent of their travel costs while any partners were not reimbursed.
A colourful group of Oliver students had fun learning about Japanese culture during a trip to Bandai in 2020.
File photo
In 2005, the Mayor travelled alone as a delegation to Bandai and had full expenses reimbursed.
Then in 2007, this issue was brought to council and it was decided that council members should be reimbursed for expenses in the same manner as set out for conventions in the Travel Expense Policy.
In the Travel Expense Policy, there is no percentage of costs specified, but upon budget approval by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) or the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) expenses may be reimbursed such as transportation expenses including “the most economical airfare”, accommodation, meals (around $96 per day) and incidental expenses.
Council agreed that they should formalize a policy specifically for sister city travel to Bandai, Japan.
Councillor Terry Schafer appreciated Veintimilla’s suggestion, commenting “I think it’s important we do establish a policy, about a cap on how many times a current sitting councillor or mayor should be able to be funded for a trip to Bandai”.
“Having had the privilege to go to Bandai . . . I would suggest the general public consider going along as well,” Councillor David Mattes suggested.
Mayor Martin Johansen who sits on the Sister City Committee explained that they have had discussions about instead of just having a council delegation, “it would be better if it was a community delegation … part of the benefit of going there is selling Oliver, and for people to come here and visit Oliver.”
He explained that they had a discussion about inviting Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) members, someone from the school district, and a youth delegation not limited to a small set of students, but it being open to all students at South Okanagan Secondary School (SOSS).
For 2025, the town of Oliver will cover a maximum of 50 per cent of expenses, and town staff are now tasked with forming a policy and bringing it to a council meeting for discussion.
The Oliver Ambassadors travelled to Bandai from July 28 to August 5, 2024. The town covered 50 per cent of the costs for airline tickets.
Based on this recent trip the town estimates the travel costs to Bandai are approximately $1,575 to $2,000 for flights. Accommodations are estimated to be approximately $1,000 per person.
The Sister City Reserve Fund will have $10,804 for 2025. This includes the $2,500 contribution to the Sister City Reserve Fund that is budgeted for annually.
