 After leadership change, Metro Vancouver will focus on lowering proposed tax increases | | |  | | | It's in charge of water and sewage across the region — and on Friday, Metro Vancouver flushed out its old leadership.
Delta Mayor George Harvie was elected the new chair of the regional government that spans 21 municipalities from Bowen Island to the Township of Langley after telling the board of mayors and councillors that he would emphasize fiscal responsibility if chosen.
The average annual household regional tax bill is forecast to rise from $594 this year to $1021 in 2027 due mostly to the cost of new or expanded wastewater treatment plants, and Harvie said he would form a task force to try to reduce that increase. “We’re getting that task force together immediately, so we can start working with staff to bring back a lower number. It's always possible, it just needs effort, and I'm sure staff are going to co-operate ... and get a better number at the end of five years,” he said.
“That's one of the reasons I ran. I just can't accept it. And if you can't accept it, don't complain about it, go try and do something about it.”
That’s the on-the-record reason for why Harvie won — but the reality is somewhat more complex.
To get the job, Harvie defeated incumbent chair Sav Dhaliwal (a Burnaby councillor) and incumbent vice-chair Linda Buchanan (North Vancouver mayor) in a secret ballot. As such, we don’t know who voted how. |  | However, we do know that Dhaliwal and Buchanan are seen as broadly centre-left politicians, while Harvie is seen as centre-right. And behind the scenes, Dhaliwal and Buchanan had feuded during their four years in power (part of the reason for Buchanan running to replace him), and that several directors felt there were more conflicts than necessary.
So, there was a change. Another centre-right politician with a focus on reducing the rate of tax increases is in a key position of power in the region. And Vancouver Coun. Lisa Dominato losing her bid for vice-chair to Anmore Mayor John McEwen — despite Vancouver having six more votes than Anmore — served as another reminder that the rest of the region aren’t always supporters of its biggest city.
(For what it’s worth, Harvie will receive about $100,000 a year as chair, while McEwen will receive about $50,000).
In the short term, it shows the ways that the region’s political culture continues to shift.
And in the long term, you can expect to hear a little bit more about your regional tax bills — at least from those now in power on the 28th floor of the Metro Vancouver tower. | | |  | | | 1. Vancouver | | | And we’re back! While Metro Matters took a much-needed break after the election, thousands of local officials got straight to work. In Vancouver, that meant appointing people to boards, moving forward on election promises — and beginning what is likely to be a tricky budgeting process as they try to balance increasing the police budget, keeping tax increases relatively low and avoiding significant cuts to other services.
Read more | | |  | | | 2. Surrey | Doug McCallum: an ex-mayor, but an innocent ex-mayor, after a judge ruled he was not guilty of mischief in a parking lot last year where he said his foot was run over. But the argument he had with opponents in that parking lot continues, as council is set to vote Monday on the proposal for stopping the transition to the Surrey Police Service that it will present to the provincial government, who will make the final decision.
Read more | | | |  | | | 3. Election redux? | But just because the election is over doesn’t mean *everyone* is accepting the results. Case in point: Pouce Coupe, where ousted mayor Lorraine Michette has filed legal action to try to reverse the decision of voters last month, and Merritt, where mayoral runner-up Tom Luck has filed his own request to throw out the results. We'll see if their respective judges show them more support than voters ended up doing. Read more in Energetic City | | | | | |  | | | 4. Land acknowledgements | How municipal councils should acknowledge their presence on unceded land was a subject of debate in two Lower Mainland municipalities this week, with two different results as West Vancouver opted to end its practice of a land acknowledgement to start council meetings, while Richmond voted to establish a reconciliation policy, which could lead to them adopting the practice.
Read more | | | |  | | | 5. Sayward | We’ll admit to being a sucker for any story about a young person getting involved in politics, and at the age of 18, Kohen Gilkin is one of the youngest local politicians in B.C.’s history after getting the most votes for Sayward council. We hope he has a slightly less stressful time on council than those involved in his municipalities' politics the previous four years. Read more in the North Island Gazette | | | | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
forwarded to you. | | | | That's it for this week! In the meantime, check out the latest headlines at cbc.ca/bc and follow our municipal affairs reporter Justin McElroy on Twitter. And if you have any questions you might want answered in a future mailbag, drop Justin a line at metromatters@cbc.ca. | | | |
