For Larry Jorginson, his impetus to run for the Shawnigan Lake area director seat at the Cowichan Valley Regional District came from his tax bill.
"The main reason basically is the continuous escalation of our taxes," Jorginson said.
The CVRD cannot continue to treat taxpayers like a "limitless ATM machine", he asserted.
The major problem, he said, is that regional directors and staff have made a habit of just adding things to the budget from last year, rather than going back and looking at each item to determine whether or not it really provides value for the money.
He thinks that salaries for top CVRD officials are too high, but that's not where the real budgetary problems lie.
The bulk of the money "being spent in a less than advantageous manner" is in the operating budget, Jorginson said.
He's for getting down to the nitty-gritty. For example, he questions the value of the current food services at Kerry Park Recreation Centre.
"They can't sell a box of popcorn without losing money on it," he said, adding that the wide menu offered is unnecessary.
"It's a recreation centre, not a restaurant," he said.
Another concern Jorginson has is that Shawnigan village doesn't have enough amenities to keep people in town to spend money.
"There's nothing here to really keep them longer," he said, citing the need for a public campground or two, scooter and bike rentals, and better signage so that people can actually find area parks and trails.
"All these small little things we actually don't have," he said.