Vernon’s proposal to prioritize resolutions at municipal conferences endorsed by SILGA

May 14, 2025 | 2:38 PM

The City of Vernon was successful in petitioning for a change to how municipal meeting events are held.

At the Southern Interior Local Government Association (SILGA) conference, held in Merritt over the weekend of April 29, the City of Vernon put forward a resolution to prioritize municipal requests and hold discussions and votes at the start of the events.

“Whereas the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) Convention is the main forum for BC local governments to take a united position on key issues through resolutions submitted at the annual Convention;

“And whereas these resolutions, if supported, are carried to other orders of government and other organizations involved in local affairs;

“And whereas voting on submitted resolutions at the Convention currently occurs during the last 3 days, creating time constraints for all items to be addressed and for all members to be in attendance:

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“Therefore be it resolved that UBCM change the Convention agenda by scheduling resolutions at the start of Convention, providing time to address all resolutions submitted and allowing members to schedule their attendance accordingly.”

The resolution was endorsed at the SILGA conference, and will be brought forward at the UBCM Convention for a wider vote among all B.C. municipal leaders in September.

Speaking with Vernon Matters, Mayor Victor Cumming said changing the process will help streamline key priorities that municipalities bring up at the conferences so they can all be discussed and voted upon.

“Interestingly enough, at our SILGA Conference they did pull the resolutions forward, so we actually got through all of them,” Cumming said.

“So that’s exactly what we’ve recommended and our recommendation to SILGA, which passed, is to do them earlier [at the UBCM Convention] so that the significant resolutions get discussed on the floor. We’re hoping that that will happen, that the UBCM will treat it in the same way, treat it as higher priority, bring it forward and give delegates a chance to debate these things on the floor of the conference.”

The way the UBCM Convention is currently set up has municipal leaders and representatives meet with one another and provincial ministers, leaving the resolution discussion portion to the final days.

“Lots of times things get squeezed [or there’s not enough time to discuss all the resolutions], and that’s a problem, so I’m really pleased that this is going to come forward,” Cumming explained.

“Also, it will put pressure on the process to limit the number of resolutions. There’s lots of resolutions that are similar, or have been dealt with before by UBCM, and, if the view is the position of municipalities in general has not changed on an issue, then it doesn’t make sense to bring it forward again to restate what has already been stated.”

Vernon’s resolution will be brought forward for discussion at the UBCM Convention in September, exact dates for that event had not been announced at time of publication.

Cumming added a few other resolutions brought forward at the SILGA Conference could have local interest, including updating legislation around Regional Districts, and the impacts of U.S. tariffs on B.C.’s economy. The mayor will compose a report to Vernon City Council that will be presented at the regular meeting on Monday, May 26.

by Liam Verster

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