New Westminster wants to determine how much money it’s spending on programs and services that have been downloaded from senior levels of government.
Councillors Daniel Fontaine and Paul Minhas presented council with a motion stating the city is facing “unprecedented” downloading from senior orders of government and has taken on the financial burden of operating a number of programs and services, as well as investing in capital infrastructure, that would normally be funded by the provincial and federal governments. The motion stated that cities collect approximately only 10 cents of every tax dollar, with the federal and provincial governments collecting the balance.
“We need to begin quantifying, like Vancouver has done, how much all of this downloading of costs is costing our local residents and our businesses,” Fontaine said.
Fontaine said a report done by the City of Vancouver contained some “staggering” findings.
“In 2021, it is estimated by (Vancouver) city staff that municipal ratepayers were picking up a $219-million annual tab for costs that should be funded by the province or the federal government,” he said. “And while the scale of downloading may not be as grand here in New Westminster, once quantified, I have no doubt that the citizens … will find it jaw-dropping.”
Fontaine said the City of New Westminster is facing a “very, very challenging” budget process this year and could be considering hefty property tax hikes at a time when people are dealing with high inflation. He thinks it’s critical that the city quantify the downloading costs from senior orders of government.
Fontaine wants the city to use the data collected to demonstrate the need for senior governments to pay for critical supports, such as helping people who are unhoused, developing below-market housing and providing critical mental health supports.
“If you simply keep picking up the tab, what incentive do other orders of government actually have to pay? I would dare say none. … I hope we send a very strong signal that our city taxpayers are not an ATM machine, especially given how senior levels of government are awash in cash at the moment,” he said. “We are facing significant budget pressures, and senior orders of government with much deeper pockets, bigger budgets, and massive, unspent surpluses, should be stepping up to help.”
After a discussion about the motion – and several amendments to the motion originally put forward, council unanimously approved a motion to have staff to report back to council with an itemized list of expenditures and senior government revenues that the City of New Westminster has incorporated into the operating and capital budgets, which are typically considered outside of municipal jurisdictions and are not part of the city’s “core services.”
Coun. Jaimie McEvoy said he doesn’t have a problem saying that governments have downloaded onto cities, noting it’s an issue council has raised in the past through the Union of B.C. Municipalities. He said there’s some subjectivity in defining what a “core service” is for a municipality.
“When it comes to really basic things like roads, and parks, there is actually no legal requirement for cities to provide those things. So it's an open question: what counts as a core service? It depends who you talk to; (they) will have different interpretations of that,” he said. “But I have no problem saying there has been downloading of social services onto municipalities, where the federal government has the strongest taxing power, and provincial governments have constitutional responsibility for social programs. Those two entities do have some formal responsibility in these things.”
McEvoy said some local governments, non-profits and churches have stepped in to make a difference when senior governments weren’t meeting their responsibilities. He supports getting information that highlights costs that have been downloaded onto cities and taking that to the federal and provincial governments.
Motion amended
At Monday night's meeting, council made some amendments to Fontaine and Minhas’s original motion, including a suggestion from Coun. Ruby Campbell to have staff to report back on revenues (not just expenses) received from senior governments.
Lisa Spitale, the city’s chief administrative officer, said it would be challenging for staff to compile downloading costs as part of the 2023 budget.
“With respect to quantifying downloaded costs, which is valid, it does take us some time. When we did the downtown livability strategy, it took us several weeks to identify, just that for the downtown,” she said. “So, my only suggestion is if the motion does go forward, that perhaps we not tie it directly to the 2023 budget development process. It may take us longer than that council to itemize it to the extent that I think it will be an important document for council and for council's advocacy. I'm just presenting that as a timing caution.”
The original motion asked that staff report back to council with an itemized list of expenditures (related to costs downloaded from senior governments) as part of the 2023 budget process. Council amended the motion to remove references to the 2023 budget.
As someone who is “data driven”, Mayor Patrick Johnstone thinks it’s better not to rush the process of quantifying the downloading costs from senior governments. He said council needs to have a meaningful conversation about the data that’s being collected about what is considered a core service for the municipality.
“It's a deeper conversation for us,” he said. “I am not opposed to this idea at all, but I do think that we should include it as part of our discussions, as opposed to assuring that we have a list done for the 2023 budget process.”
While discussing the motion, Campbell expressed concern about the its reference to “core services”, given that there’s no typical definition of core services for municipalities. She noted that philosopher Elliot Rossiter had pointed out earlier in the meeting that “core services” could be an ethical question.
During a lengthy discussion on the motion, council considered removing the reference to “core services” from the motion. Ultimately, however, it was included in the motion as council members said “core services” would be clarified during future discussions about downloading impacts.
Elliot Rossiter, an Uptown resident who has served on the city’s poverty reduction committee, supported the focus on appealing to higher levels of government to address some of the pressing issues in the city. He expressed concern that the motion refers to expenditures that are “typically considered outside of municipal jurisdiction, and not part of the city's core services.”
“My basic objection to this motion is, while I'm sympathetic to certain aspects of it, that I think that the distinction between what is and is not considered a core service is a really deep, ethical question,” said Rossiter, a faculty member in the Department of Philosophy at Douglas College. “Ultimately, that is a discussion that's worth having. But I think it's outside of the scope of this kind of motion and cannot simply be assumed.”
Rossiter believes the city needs to continue supporting issues around housing insecurity, food insecurity, economic insecurity, and various forms of deprivation and social exclusion, and worries that could be impacted by formulating a list of services that have been downloaded onto municipalities from senior levels of government.
“My further worry about this list is that it will be used not just for advocacy, but could potentially also be used to justify budget and service cuts. But I think that this is really not a time for austerity, and that it's important, really, to focus on those who face various forms of deprivation, social exclusion and to continue to prioritize the city's commitments,” he said. “Now I'm not arguing here for spending without limit; I think that fiscal responsibility is an important value, but that fiscal risk responsibility must never be divorced from our broader and social environmental responsibilities including reconciliation, climate action, and economic justice for those in need.”
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