Furniture shopping really shouldn’t be this difficult. Most people look around several stores, compare quality and prices and then pick the best they can get, at a price they can afford.
That’s what normal people do. And if you have been paying attention to “furniture-gate” which has been going on for the past month, the Regional District of Central Kootenay will tell you that’s exactly what they did.
But there is a difference — it’s not their money.
The RDCK has an extra challenge that should require them to get the best deal so that they do not burden an already burdened taxpayer.
So when the directors voted to go with a more expensive quote, many members of the public questioned that decision.
So did this paper.
It is the role of a newspaper to question local government decisions. To try and get to more than what the decision is, but why the decision was made.
Apparently Kaslo director Andy Shadrack doesn’t agree. In fact he spoke at Thursday’s board meeting and was critical of the media coverage. He went on to say that he objected to the way “the Nelson Star has behaved.”
We want to know how we should behave. Is it Shadrack’s opinion that we should take decisions as gospel and not inquire why? Should we just sit in the office waiting for the press release to come in and print the RDCK’s official position verbatim?
That’s not going to happen.
If the RDCK wants to go with the higher bidder and therefore have the highest quality furniture possible, then we object.
These are difficulty economic times and many residents have to settle for less than what they want.
Maybe the RDCK could set an example for its taxpayers and go with a cheaper choice.