British Columbia's transportation minister has booted the contentious Metro Vancouver transit funding referendum over to the region's mayors.
Todd Stone announced February 6 that the mayors will now be responsible for coming up with the transit referendum question and for running the referendum campaign.
In return, Stone is giving the mayors a say over transit planning for the region. TransLink's Mayors' Council has been limited to an advisory role since 2007, when then-transportation minister Kevin Falcon restructured TransLink's governance and gave decision-making powers to an appointed board.
"To make sure the Mayors' council has the tools it needs to create its regional vision, I am prepared to put forward legislation that significantly increases the authority of the Mayors Council," said Stone. "They will have the ability to establish Translink's long-term strategies."
Stone is also loosening the time frame for the transit referendum, which he had previously said would happen no later than the November 2014 municipal election.
He now says the mayors can choose to hold the referendum to coincide with the November municipal elections, or choose another date up to June 30, 2015. If they hold the referendum before that deadline, the province will fund the cost of the referendum as well as the campaign.
The mayors will also be responsible for coming up with the referendum question.
"The wording of the question is the easiest part of this," Stone said. "That will flow out of the process that has to happen first, which is the mayors getting together first and defining a regional plan with priorities, what's in, what's out, what does it cost and what are the desired funding sources? Once you've got that, there's your question."
Stone said that TransLink's 2040 plan is a good start, but that the mayors will need to prioritize those projects and determine how much each will cost.
Stone said that he will also introduce legislation to allow for the transit referendum in the upcoming spring sitting of the legislature. A transit referendum must be held if the mayors are proposing new funding sources for transit projects.
For instance, an increase in transit fares or raising municipal property taxes to pay for new transit would not require a referendum, Stone said. But changes to the carbon tax or a vehicle levy, which would require provincial government approval, would.
Stone will meet with TransLink's Mayors' Council on February 14 to discuss the changes.
Premier Christy Clark promised the transit funding referendum during the 2013 provincial election.
In March 2013, the premier rejected a vehicle levy that had been proposed by the mayors' council. In June 2013, Metro Vancouver endorsed road pricing as a method of raising funds for transit. Three years ago, Metro Vancouver mayors and the province committed to exploring ways to fund transit other than raising property taxes.
@jenstden
