It's been said that municipal government is the closest to the people.
If the federal government were to disappear tomorrow - so goes an old yarn - it would take about a month to notice.
If the provincial government vanished, citizens would feel the ramifications in a week. If city hall were suddenly gone, however, the residents of Burnaby would notice the next day when garbage wasn't picked up.
Not taking these timelines too literally, the point is valid: city hall is important.
Many municipal politicians argue that their work is overlooked and that cities are forced to do too much with not enough money.
Community newspapers cover the goings-on at their city halls with a keen eye.
Beyond Vancouver, however, bigger media outlets tend to give scant attention to unsexy stories about recycling, zoning and bylaw enforcement.
That's why the discussions and the resolutions that emerged from last week's Union of B.C. Municipalities annual convention are easy to ignore by the provincial government.
Many of the resolutions voted on by the municipal leaders of B.C. are nothing more than decisions that they should petition Victoria for more of this or less of that, or changes here or there: We resolve to do more, to ask for more.
Too often Victoria turns a blind eye or, at best, greets the resolutions with platitudes.
The provincial government issues a detailed response to the resolutions that emerge from the Union of B.C. Municipalities conventions.
This is good reading, but more needs to be done to follow up with Victoria if responses are inadequate or if promises are not kept.
It may not all be newsworthy, but Victoria needs to know that we are all paying attention to the UBCM.
