Sukh Dhaliwal fronted United Surrey said after four years of secrecy, special access and isolation, they are releasing its Ethics and Accountability Governance Plan to restore confidence in Surrey City Hall. “United Surrey is simply responding to overwhelming outcry from Surrey residents over the current Mayor and Council,” said Mayoral candidate Sukh Dhaliwal. “We have consulted with all segments of Surrey’s population for many months, and so our Ethics and Accountability Governance Plan is designed by the people, and for the people,” said Dhaliwal. “City Hall must once again become a place that is welcoming to all through the principles of fairness, equity and transparency.”
By PD Raj – Senior Writer DESIBUZZCanada
SURREY –Sukh Dhaliwal fronted United Surrey said after four years of secrecy, special access and isolation, they are releasing its Ethics and Accountability Governance Plan to restore confidence in Surrey City Hall.
United Surrey’s plan is comprised of four proposals:
*Immediately undertake a forensic audit of all City of Surrey development applications to safeguard the public trust;
*Make a formal request to BC’s Auditor General to oversee the City of Surrey’s fiscal management for the first two budgets delivered;
*Make the progress of all development applications publicly accessible online to ensure no queue jumping or special access;
*Introduce new guidelines requiring a City Council vote on all public-tender contracts awarded worth $10,000 and above,
Surrey United said their plan represents simple yet tangible changes that will provide unprecedented public access to information and answers.
“United Surrey is simply responding to overwhelming outcry from Surrey residents over the current Mayor and Council,” said Mayoral candidate Sukh Dhaliwal.
“We have consulted with all segments of Surrey’s population for many months, and so our Ethics and Accountability Governance Plan is designed by the people, and for the people,” said Dhaliwal. “City Hall must once again become a place that is welcoming to all through the principles of fairness, equity and transparency.”
United Surrey listed a litany of scandals and suspect conduct by the current governing caucus in a facebook video post:
United Surrey said they are proud to release our Ethics and Accountability Governance Plan.
“We are on the verge of becoming British Columbia’s largest city and elected officials that have such a lack of regard for the public trust are unfit to represent the interests of residents,” added Dhaliwal. “United Surrey understands the responsibility and trust necessary for effective leadership, and our team is ready to step forward to set the standard for accountability in this city.”
In an earlier release, United Surrey released their four-point Public Safety Plan for tangible, positive impact.
Developed in collaboration with community leaders, each proposal is designed to have direct and immediate positive impact for Surrey residents.
The four pillars of the United Surrey Public Safety Plan are:
*Donation of land holdings towards the construction of a new Surrey-based law enforcement training facility in collaboration with the provincial government and other Metro Vancouver municipalities in order to address current hiring and recruitment bottlenecks;
*The introduction of a three-tier system that guarantees timely and appropriate citizen responses by better utilizing a combination of law enforcement, mental health professionals and bylaw officers;
*Integrated coordination through a new City Hall youth hub designed to centralize services, collaboration, venues, funding and accountability for youth outreach and support (with gang education and prevention strategies used as fundamental accountability metrics for all city-financed youth programming);
*A commitment to hire 15 new fire fighters annually for five years as well as construct a new firehall in Surrey City Centre to better address increased density and the ongoing opioid crisis.
Public safety solutions must be diversified to tackle the range of issues and concerns Surrey residents, said Dhaliwal.
“Our platform offers real solutions to several of the major public safety issues our city is facing on a daily basis,” Dhaliwal said. “Slogans and simplistic approaches are inadequate for Surrey’s rapid growth because residents deserve better than those using politics for personal gain.”
Dhaliwal said with the current Mayor and Council and opposition parties focused on which uniforms officers wear and a number of tactics to create division amongst residents, it is time for new leadership that puts the needs of people ahead of all other considerations.
