The embattled board at Metro Vancouver has voted to trim the fat. Pending approval from the provincial government, the number of elected officials around the table at regional district board meetings will be reduced from 45 to 34. “I’m really pleased that the board supported the changes. We’ve heard very clearly from the public and from the province that they really wanted us to get our house in order,” said Lisa Dominato, governance committee chair. “Reducing the size of the board overall so we have more efficient decision making, more accountable to taxpayers.” There are 23 jurisdictions in the region and under the current system Vancouver has seven directors on the board and Surrey has six. Moving forward, each would be capped at three with a weighted voting system. “If you look at the size of the board itself, it’s still way too large. I you shouldn’t be patting yourself on the back for a board that’s going to be 34 people,” said Daniel Fontaine, a New Westminster city councillor. Directors are paid $557 per meeting, which is in addition to the regular salaries they receive from their respective municipalities. Richmond city councillor Kash Heed is one of several local elected officials who have called for the stipends to be reduced or eliminated altogether. “I’m sure the taxpayers in Metro Vancouver will see through this and see that it’s just rhetoric, and it’s not getting to the root causes of the over expenditures and the problems within Metro Vancouver,” Heed said. The board also voted to create a major projects oversight committee made up of both elected officials and industry professionals. The move comes in the wake of extraordinary cost overruns at the new North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant which has ballooned from an original estimate of $700 million to more than $3.86 billion dollars. “We want to make sure that we can manage projects responsibly, and we’re accountable to our ratepayers,” said Dominato. “So, this project board is best practice used by the provincial government, used by federal government, and includes delegated authority to independent experts in capital infrastructure.” The board also agreed to explore the possibility of amalgamating the existing four sewerage areas into one, which, if implemented, could lead to more potential cost savings.
