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Wanted: ‘Big ideas’ to improve local government in B.C.

Citizens of Metro Vancouver are returning to work and school this week after one of the coldest holiday seasons in memory.
According to columnist Mike Klassen, leading up to the provincial election in May, skyrocketing prop
According to columnist Mike Klassen, leading up to the provincial election in May, skyrocketing property tax increases should be a part of a larger conversation about our region’s declining affordability. Photo Dan Toulgoet

Citizens of Metro Vancouver are returning to work and school this week after one of the coldest holiday seasons in memory. The icy conditions serve to remind us of our dependence on local governments for basic services such as snow removal and waste collection.

If you were among the many who were frustrated by missed garbage pickups or slick roads and sidewalks, stop to consider how much the cost of these services has gone up lately. In the case of the City of Vancouver, property taxes are rising nearly four per cent in 2017, which is more than double B.C.’s rate of inflation.

Mayor Gregor Robertson has not provided a good explanation as to why the increases are so high, nor what taxpayers will get in return for their additional investment.

Leading up to the provincial election in May, these skyrocketing increases should be a part of a larger conversation about our region’s declining affordability. It’s time to ask all of B.C.’s major political parties what are their policy planks to put cities on a path toward financial sustainability and certainty?

It’s not as if there are no ideas on how to empower B.C.’s municipalities to drive innovation, while continuing to provide quality services affordably.

Complaining about the rising costs and regulatory burden of local government is a cottage industry for business-oriented groups, whose own suggestions on what to do about it have been in short supply. Though meticulously researched, their reports usually describe the problem without providing a solution.

Consider the fact that local governments collect taxes from a property owner whether a home is occupied, or if a commercial business is generating income or not. There is no “carrot,” in other words, to incentivize municipal and district councils toward prudent fiscal management by keeping fees and taxes in check.

So, with the cooperation of the provincial government, we could change that.

For a “carrot” to cities there is a good precedent — established in 2014 by Minister of Finance Mike de Jong — called the Economic Stability Mandate (ESM). The ESM initiative provides wage increases to the provincial public service based upon real GDP growth, in addition to increases already negotiated in their contracts.

As a result of this policy, 173 collective agreements were successfully ratified by public sector unions, workers have shared in the province’s economic success and costs were controlled for taxpayers.

An economic stability mandate for local governments is needed, one that will reward cities financially, provided councils are willing to participate in the initiative. There will be strings attached for the funding, of course. And as with the ESM, a simple formula would be needed to calculate how local governments are helping their local economies, and by how much.

With the incentive in place, city councils could justify further efforts to support employment and growth in their communities.

When it comes to hard costs for local government, labour is often flagged as a determining factor in property tax inflation. The effectiveness of collective bargaining can either make or break a municipal budget.

Before 2012, there was an institution called the GVRD Labour Relations Bureau, whose mandate was to negotiate on behalf of most of Metro Vancouver. That office remains with an updated mandate, but the region’s largest cities — Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey –— have opted out of collective bargaining.

Vancouver left after Coun. Geoff Meggs’ 2009 council motion took aim at the cost and “questionable benefits” of regional bargaining.

What if the provincial government contributed to the annual budget of the Metro Vancouver Labour Relations Services office — roughly $2 million — as an incentive for unified regional bargaining? Ending multi-employer negotiations will strengthen the hand of cost-conscious cities.

Our immediate priorities in Vancouver may revolve around getting our household waste collected, or our street corners free of snow and ice. But on the campaign trail this spring, we should be looking for those “big ideas” that will make local government in B.C. more efficient and affordable.

mike@mikeklassen.net

@MikeKlassen