Mayors balk at TransLink fee hikes
Civic leaders on the Metro Vancouver board say the province has set them up to take the blame if TransLink imposes controversial new fees or tax increases to finance future transit expansion.
They're not happy with that prospect and some Metro directors are starting to make rebellious rumblings.
Talk has quietly gravitated to what would happen if Metro Vancouver declined to guarantee TransLink's debts, which are backstopped to a maximum of $2.8 billion by the regional district.
"If we don't guarantee it, it falls on the doorstep of the province," Maple Ridge Mayor Gordy Robson said.
He said it's "unpalatable" for TransLink to cook up a menu of new ways to extract cash from local citizens – it is weighing everything from a vehicle levy to tolls, along with fuel tax, property tax and fare hikes – that area mayors would be forced to consent to in order to finance a huge system expansion and avert major cuts.
"It's ludicrous," he said. "The only thing we control is which Kool-Aid we're going to drink."
Robson said Victoria should take a page from the international bank bailouts and accept that TransLink is "insolvent" and agree to shift its debt – currently $2.2 billion – onto the provincial government's books.
"Maybe we should have a restructuring," he said during debate on the issue at Metro's land use and transportation committee.
Transportation minister Kevin Falcon has said he's not contemplating any bailout and the region must contribute toward the benefits it will receive.
The mayors also want more influence over TransLink – something elected civic politicians had up until Falcon wiped out their role and handed most decision-making to an appointed corporate-style board that took power in January.
So far the Mayors Council on Regional Transportation, which has the final say on major funding increases for TransLink, has played along with the new system.
It could ultimately veto new funding mechanisms – which are expected to be debated next summer – but some Metro directors think they should act sooner to press for change.
"Maybe the Mayors Council should be more assertive," Vancouver Coun. Suzanne Anton said.
"We have been set up with a big target on our backs," added Port Moody Mayor Joe Trasolini, who said the mayors' only role is as a "figurehead" to approve tax increases so the unelected TransLink board can't be accused of engaging in taxation without representation.
Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts, who chairs the Mayors Council, said mayors initially agreed to give the new structure a chance to succeed.
"There may come a time in the near future where we may have to dig our heels in a little more than we have been," she said.
Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan predicted TransLink will be forced to seek Metro Vancouver's support in the future to borrow more money because only it and not the Mayors Council can continue to guarantee debt.
Without Metro backing and the better credit rating that delivers, he said, TransLink would face sharply higher financing costs.
TransLink is expected to contribute billions as its share of the province's new $10-billion transit plan for the Lower Mainland.
The extra spending is expected to push the transportation authority into a deficit of $300-$500 million a year after 2011 without new revenue sources.
Even if it just tries to maintain the existing system as it now is, TransLink faces deficits of $150 million a year soon.
It still has a $400-million accumulated operating surplus, but that is beginning to shrivel to nothing over the next three years.
The Metro board is amending its policies to reflect that it no longer has any direct say in TransLink's plans.
Civic politicians here say they're unique among Canada's big cities in not having control over local transportation.
© Copyright 2007 Burnaby NewsLeader