"The Metro Vancouver board has one of the biggest municipal budgets next to Vancouver. They have over $600 million that they handle on sewage, water and other things. I think it's really important that we have transparency."
Vancouver Coun. George Affleck, Jan. 26
THE interesting thing about poking a stick into a hornet's nest is that you often get more than either you or the hornets had bargained for, especially when yours is not the only stick in the nest.
As we have discovered over the past few weeks, North Shore residents are not alone in their calls for an amalgamation study and for more accountability at the Metro Vancouver operation.
That these issues are reaching critical mass was demonstrated on Jan. 17, when Rian Martin and other members of the Langley Reunification Association presented a citizens' petition to both councils asking for an independent study of the pros and cons of amalgamating the Township and City of Langley.
The 6,732 signatures on the petition represented almost 5.2 per cent of the total population.
Organizers reported that ". . . far more city residents signed in support of a study than voted for any municipal candidate last Nov. 19."
This was democracy at its best: a peaceful, non-partisan, grassroots campaign not "demanding" amalgamation, just asking for a joint independent study of the idea.
Despite that, Mayor Peter Fassbender - who preceded District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton as chairman of the Mayors' Council on Regional Transportation - says Langley City council stands behind its 2011 decision to reject an amalgamation study.
The political turmoils of two Fraser Valley communities are relevant to us and to attempts to bring accountability to regional governance because many of their issues mirror those of the North Shore.
The intransigence of the Fassbender council is echoed in the City of North Vancouver and, by their votes on regional boards and committees, those same players influence the direction local councils are able to pursue other issues.
If they brush off respectful requests from taxpayers at home, how can we hold them accountable at regional tables?
So if you thought - as I was beginning to think - that this was merely my cynicism at work, perhaps Vancouver Coun. George Affleck's call for Metro transparency and the forthright comments from other members of our North Shore councils will put those concerns to rest.
West Vancouver Mayor Michael Smith was the first to respond to the questions regarding Metro committee time I asked in last week's column:
"I am glad you are looking into this subject," he began.
"Participants attending a Metro (directors') meeting or Metro committee meeting, of which there are many, are paid $330 per (four-hour) meeting.
"Expenses are also paid, despite the fact that council members receive one-third of their remuneration tax-free to pay their expenses.
"Surely a regional meeting should be considered part of (the) job you are paid to do by your own municipality?"
Smith is right; regionally elected or not, they cannot have it both ways by separating one type of meeting from another.
If you were already wondering how much you were paying for council members to Twitter and attend meetings of dubious result, you'll just love this revelation: Last Thursday and Friday, Metro directors held a two-day workshop in Chilliwack.
"In preparation," said Smith, "directors were asked to provide answers to questions like: If they made a movie of your life, who would play you; what would your best friend say is your song and, what three people - living, dead or fictional - would you invite for dinner?"
No wonder the meeting was held in Chilliwack.
Metro guidelines double the stipend if a meeting goes beyond four hours.
The workshop spanned two days, so would that make the cost $660 or $1,320 multiplied by 40 directors - $26,400 or $52,800 - plus venue rental, accommodations, staff and mileage?
Is it any wonder Affleck wants transparency?
Is it surprising people like District of North Vancouver Coun. Doug MacKay-Dunn and other voices from Fraser Valley communities have mused about the possibility of switching, or abandoning membership in regional districts.
Why are experienced councillors like Lisa Muri and MacKay-Dunn consistently shunned by Metro? Are they too outspoken?
My concerns are not shared by others who replied to my questions.
Mayor Walton and Couns. Alan Nixon, Mike Little and Robin Hicks all believe that, rather than taking time away from local responsibilities, their Metro commitments offer an opportunity to represent district interests to the region.
Mayor Darrell Mussatto, the only member of council to go on record in the City of North Vancouver, also believes his "regional committee commitments do not take time away from [his] mayoral duties. . . ." and that "there is a very good balance" of committee representation "between the three North Shore municipalities."
West Vancouver's Mary-Ann Booth, the only new North Shore councillor to respond, said that based on her six-year experience as a school trustee, she was "not a proponent of larger, amalgamated entities" and that she did not expect her monthly three-hour meeting on the aboriginal relations committee would require an onerous time commitment.
The rest of this column notwithstanding, it cannot end without mention of Walton's pre-and post-election comments on regional issues.
In his online campaign statement, Thoughts on the Region, he said this:
"Arguably our 'metroplex' extends from Sechelt to Squamish to Chilliwack" and later, "The recent TransLink governance draft legislation put forward the idea of an expanded transit region extending from Hope to Pemberton, and it wouldn't surprise me in the near future to see an expanded regional district . . . from downtown Vancouver and Surrey Centre, and likely reaching from Chilliwack to Squamish."
We have been warned; the mandate-and boundary-creep of Metro Vancouver is gathering momentum.
As we now know, the pre-election Nov. 9, 2011 letter to Premier Christy Clark over the unanimous signature of the Mayors' Council on Regional Transportation was the first flex of regional muscles.
Is that why Metro held its workshop in Chilliwack? Raising the profile so to speak?
Rail for the Valley and North Shore residents would do well to stay tuned for uplifting TransLink announcements of increased bus services - and taxes - in the region's "near future."
Will we see three SeaBuses afloat at the same time?
rimco@shaw.ca
