New City Hall watchdog not popular with civic politicians

At 8:55 this morning, after a continental breakfast at the Vancouver Convention Centre and an address by opposition leader Adrian Dix, municipal politicians will tackle the thorny issue of a new provincial overseer.

They’ll have lots to chew on as they digest their Corn Flakes and toast — Premier Christy Clark’s government wants to legislate a new position to keep an eye on the books at City Halls throughout the province.

If an information session with Community Development Minister Ida Chong on Tuesday is any indication, the idea is in for a rough ride on the floor of today’s policy session at the Union of B.C. Municipalities annual convention.

Mayors and councillors lambasted the proposal which, by the way, has the support of the B.C. Chamber of Commerce, an organization that has long had misgivings about the level of municipal spending and taxation on business.

News reports quoted Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan as telling Chong the plan for a municipal auditor general is “a foolish waste of money.”

Coun. Marg Spina, who was there for the session with Chong, told me yesterday there are widespread suspicions among delegates that the Clark Liberals are engaging in “attention deflection,” and that details are thin on what an MAG’s office would cost, what it would do and who it would report to.

She expects to vote against the idea today unless she hears ”something compelling” in favour of it.

Today’s discussion will centre on a UBCM executive policy paper that raises questions about the need for such a position. It notes that the Province’s proposal is based on a “lack of (mandatory) performance auditing in the local government system” that has been citied as “a weakness in that system.”

But, says the paper, the “weakness” may be more perception that reality. It frets about the notion that the MAG might be charged with reviewing policy decisions of local government such as taxation or even services and programs.

Indeed, the B.C. Chamber, which encouraged the Liberals to bring in the MAG concept, states in its own policies that part of the office’s mandate should be “to ensure an independent review of municipal programs, spending, community plans and services.”

In between all the heckling on Tuesday, Chong tried to reassure delegates that the new watchdog wouldn’t be sticking his or her nose in where it doesn’t belong. She said the MAG would look at “values-for-money” issues and more efficient ways of delivering services, but its recommendations won’t be binding.

So why are civic leaders so worried? For one thing, it took decades for the provincial government to even recognize on paper that municipalities are a level of government rather than simple serfs to Victoria, and they don’t want to go backwards.

For another, the provincial government has a pretty lousy record when it comes to spending and to transparency, and has little to teach City councils on those matters.

As Burnaby’s Mayor Corrigan put it, “Municipalities are the most effective, most transparent of governments. We already have an annual audit, we’re required to have a balanced budget, most of us have internal auditing systems.”

Nevertheless, Clark is more likely than not to put the MAG in effect, no matter what the UBCM decides, because it will play well with a public that is sceptical of all government spending at any level.