Big-picture campaign bromides aside, what mayoral candidates dare not address in any meaningful way is the state of local government finances.
Spending is more palatable to most voters than reining in largesse, especially when it’s courtesy of the public purse. So revelations from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) showing that the majority of B.C. municipal governments have been increasing operational spending almost four times faster than B.C.’s population growth should not be surprising.
The CFIB is consequently advocating that municipal governments adopt what it calls a small-business platform that “emphasizes spending practices as one of the six core issues that need to be addressed.”
Businesses small and large will applaud that initiative.
Municipal and other taxes are among their biggest cost burdens. As the CFIB points out, business owners in B.C. paid close to 30% of total property taxes in 2018 but accounted for just over 12% of property value.
While businesses are not permitted to vote in municipal elections, they can vote with their feet and move to regions where the financial realities of doing business are appreciated by local government as much as the needs of a voting public that traditionally does not support spending discipline if it means reducing services provided by municipal tax dollars.
It’s instructive that only eight out of 152 municipal governments in the province have shown the resolve required to keep operational spending at or below inflation levels over the 10-year period covered in CFIB’s study.
Vancouver, which spends far more per resident than does nearby Surrey, is among the worst offenders in increasing operating budget spending.
The political turnover following the October elections is unlikely to change that.
After all, fiscal discipline no longer appears to be a voter priority when considering municipal election candidates, regardless of how that will affect the economic vitality of their communities and the future services they can afford to provide.
