I am posting this simply to draw attention to the importance of the Translink Mayors' Council, and the impact of decisions made there. Regardless of who fills this post, there is a big responsibility and time committment attached. (It is normally the Mayor, but can be delegated to a Councillor, as Mayor Turner has done).Message from Mayor Richard Walton, Chair of the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation
TransLink Mayors' Council Update #8 – November 4, 2011
Dear Colleagues:
With the completion of our 2011 meeting schedule, I thought it appropriate to summarize not only what we discussed at the October 27 meetings, but also reflect back on the events of the past year and where the work of the Mayors’ Council currently sits. I would also like to propose some next steps, which the Mayors’ Council might consider in the year ahead.
It was suggested during our recent meeting that the election of the next Chair and Vice Chair occur after the mid-December Metro Vancouver elections. I support this and suggest that the election take place at the 2012 Inaugural meeting to be held Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. Although the Mayors’ Council is separate by legal constitution from the governance of Metro, transportation issues are tangential to land planning, and the leadership synergies within the municipal sector are obvious.
The Mayors’ Council Rules and Procedures stipulate that the end of term for Chair and Vice Chair is December 31, and that the Chair and Vice Chair declare their intentions prior to November 1. I am certainly open to serving again but will not make my mind up until after both the November municipal and the December Metro elections and committee appointments have taken place. As my predecessors, Mayors Watts and Mayor Fassbender can attest, this role requires significant time and the commitment needs to be balanced against other duties and responsibilities incurred as elected leaders. Thus I encourage anyone thinking of taking on this important regional role to not be shy in communicating their interest to regional colleagues.
Review of Past Year
At the beginning of 2011 we determined collectively to better understand the complexities of transportation funding in our region. As a result, we requested TransLink staff to prepare, and we subsequently received in March 2011, the “Mayors’ Council Curriculum Materials: Research on Funding for Transportation”.
This assemblage of reports included:
third party research conducted by the IBI Group on both short term and long term funding for TransLink;
consideration of best practices that included Paying Our Way: A New Framework for Transportation Finance from the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Commission;
Local and Regional Funding Mechanisms for Public Transportation from the Transit Cooperative Research Program; and
Time to Get Serious: Reliable Funding for Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area from the Toronto City Summit Alliance.
The Curriculum Materials also included a history of TransLink funding and a series of background reports that identified various potential future funding sources for the region. As noted by Mayor Brodie at our October 27, 2011 meeting, the Mayors’ Council is already in possession of considerable research and analysis of transportation funding best practices applicable for our region.
Between February and April 2011, while we were awaiting both the Government’s selection of the Premier and the appointment (or confirmation) of the Minister, the Chair engaged other local government elected officials and some MLAs in the development of a set of principles for funding sustainable transportation within our region. These principles were approved by the Mayors’ Council unanimously in May 2011, and have since provided an important framework for discussions with Minister Lekstrom.
On July 6, 2011 a conceptual funding strategy was agreed to with the Province, recognizing two important positions that Metro Mayors have been consistently advocating:
that the current funding mix in the TransLink legislation, with an ongoing reliance on property taxes, is not sufficient to meet the needs of our growing region; and
that the governance structure for public transportation, introduced in 2008, does not provide locally elected officials with a sufficient role in the development of transportation plans for the region.
Minister Lekstrom responded to these issues by:
providing an additional two cents of fuel tax for the region, while launching a process to both develop new funding sources to replace the $30 million of time-limited property tax contained in the Moving Forward Transportation Plan, and also provide new funding for future transportation plans for the region;
having heard consistently that TransLink’s current governance model is an issue for the Mayors’ Council, committed to discussing the governance structure with the Mayors.
On October 7, 2011, the Mayors’ Council subsequently approved the Moving Forward Transportation and Financial Plan, marking the first time in more than three years that a significant improvement to Metro’s transportation service has been committed to. The Plan fulfills the region’s commitment to fund its portion of the Evergreen Line and introduces much needed service improvements across the whole region.
This decision, although not unanimous, was made in a manner that allowed each of us to express our positions and what we saw as the strengths and weaknesses of the funding structure. With the Plan now in place, the Mayors’ Council can focus its attention on the long-term sustainable alternative funding and governance improvements.
Since 2010, the Mayors’ Council has been able to improve its working relationship with the provincial government, beginning with Chair Fassbender, who negotiated the November 2010 Memorandum of Understanding with Premier Campbell’s administration. It has gained further momentum under Premier Clarke’s administration, with Minister Lekstrom playing a critical role in furthering the agenda. Hopefully, the next six months will see significant achievement allowing us the Mayors’ Council to approach the future with more certainty.
October 27, 2011 Mayors’ Council Meeting
It is difficult when chairing a meeting to record the salient points, so please advise me if the list is incomplete. My recollection is that in our discussion with the Minister we agreed:
that the existing Joint Technical Committee (JTC) begin to put together funding options and related technical work to be brought back post-election as a beginning; then involve a subcommittee of elected officials to look at what has been brought together on the technical side; and
that with regard to governance, the JTC, with input from the Regional Administrators’ Advisory Committee (RAAC), identify issues and consider what can be done to enhance the relationship between TransLink and the Mayors’ Council and address concerns regarding how Supplemental Plans are developed.
Mayor Watts also suggested that the October 2009 Comptroller General Ministry of Finance’s Report on Review of Transportation Governance Models is a good starting point for sourcing possible governance changes.
The Mayor’s Council also covered a number of other issues with the Minister with regard to funding and governance, which will be captured in the meeting minutes. However, we communicated clearly to the Minister a sense of urgency that work be conducted as soon as possible in order that action can be taken during the 2012 legislative session.
Finally, the Mayors’ Council passed a motion recommending to the Government of British Columbia that TransLink be included within the mandate of the new Municipal Auditor General’s Office, should such an authority be established.
In closing, I want to thank all of you for the support shown during the past 10 months. We do not agree on every issue, but there has been strong collective support for process, and we are at the table in a meaningful way. The balance between cautious corporate memory and cautious optimism as we negotiate the ‘unique’ paradigm of Metro transportation planning is delicate – but good policy flows from good debate and a shared commitment for the common good.
Good luck on November 19 for those of us still in the fray, and many thanks to our four colleagues stepping away from public life.
Thank You
Mayor Richard Walton
Chair
Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation
TransLink Mayors' Council Update #8 – November 4, 2011
Dear Colleagues:
With the completion of our 2011 meeting schedule, I thought it appropriate to summarize not only what we discussed at the October 27 meetings, but also reflect back on the events of the past year and where the work of the Mayors’ Council currently sits. I would also like to propose some next steps, which the Mayors’ Council might consider in the year ahead.
It was suggested during our recent meeting that the election of the next Chair and Vice Chair occur after the mid-December Metro Vancouver elections. I support this and suggest that the election take place at the 2012 Inaugural meeting to be held Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. Although the Mayors’ Council is separate by legal constitution from the governance of Metro, transportation issues are tangential to land planning, and the leadership synergies within the municipal sector are obvious.
The Mayors’ Council Rules and Procedures stipulate that the end of term for Chair and Vice Chair is December 31, and that the Chair and Vice Chair declare their intentions prior to November 1. I am certainly open to serving again but will not make my mind up until after both the November municipal and the December Metro elections and committee appointments have taken place. As my predecessors, Mayors Watts and Mayor Fassbender can attest, this role requires significant time and the commitment needs to be balanced against other duties and responsibilities incurred as elected leaders. Thus I encourage anyone thinking of taking on this important regional role to not be shy in communicating their interest to regional colleagues.
Review of Past Year
At the beginning of 2011 we determined collectively to better understand the complexities of transportation funding in our region. As a result, we requested TransLink staff to prepare, and we subsequently received in March 2011, the “Mayors’ Council Curriculum Materials: Research on Funding for Transportation”.
This assemblage of reports included:
third party research conducted by the IBI Group on both short term and long term funding for TransLink;
consideration of best practices that included Paying Our Way: A New Framework for Transportation Finance from the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Commission;
Local and Regional Funding Mechanisms for Public Transportation from the Transit Cooperative Research Program; and
Time to Get Serious: Reliable Funding for Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area from the Toronto City Summit Alliance.
The Curriculum Materials also included a history of TransLink funding and a series of background reports that identified various potential future funding sources for the region. As noted by Mayor Brodie at our October 27, 2011 meeting, the Mayors’ Council is already in possession of considerable research and analysis of transportation funding best practices applicable for our region.
Between February and April 2011, while we were awaiting both the Government’s selection of the Premier and the appointment (or confirmation) of the Minister, the Chair engaged other local government elected officials and some MLAs in the development of a set of principles for funding sustainable transportation within our region. These principles were approved by the Mayors’ Council unanimously in May 2011, and have since provided an important framework for discussions with Minister Lekstrom.
On July 6, 2011 a conceptual funding strategy was agreed to with the Province, recognizing two important positions that Metro Mayors have been consistently advocating:
that the current funding mix in the TransLink legislation, with an ongoing reliance on property taxes, is not sufficient to meet the needs of our growing region; and
that the governance structure for public transportation, introduced in 2008, does not provide locally elected officials with a sufficient role in the development of transportation plans for the region.
Minister Lekstrom responded to these issues by:
providing an additional two cents of fuel tax for the region, while launching a process to both develop new funding sources to replace the $30 million of time-limited property tax contained in the Moving Forward Transportation Plan, and also provide new funding for future transportation plans for the region;
having heard consistently that TransLink’s current governance model is an issue for the Mayors’ Council, committed to discussing the governance structure with the Mayors.
On October 7, 2011, the Mayors’ Council subsequently approved the Moving Forward Transportation and Financial Plan, marking the first time in more than three years that a significant improvement to Metro’s transportation service has been committed to. The Plan fulfills the region’s commitment to fund its portion of the Evergreen Line and introduces much needed service improvements across the whole region.
This decision, although not unanimous, was made in a manner that allowed each of us to express our positions and what we saw as the strengths and weaknesses of the funding structure. With the Plan now in place, the Mayors’ Council can focus its attention on the long-term sustainable alternative funding and governance improvements.
Since 2010, the Mayors’ Council has been able to improve its working relationship with the provincial government, beginning with Chair Fassbender, who negotiated the November 2010 Memorandum of Understanding with Premier Campbell’s administration. It has gained further momentum under Premier Clarke’s administration, with Minister Lekstrom playing a critical role in furthering the agenda. Hopefully, the next six months will see significant achievement allowing us the Mayors’ Council to approach the future with more certainty.
October 27, 2011 Mayors’ Council Meeting
It is difficult when chairing a meeting to record the salient points, so please advise me if the list is incomplete. My recollection is that in our discussion with the Minister we agreed:
that the existing Joint Technical Committee (JTC) begin to put together funding options and related technical work to be brought back post-election as a beginning; then involve a subcommittee of elected officials to look at what has been brought together on the technical side; and
that with regard to governance, the JTC, with input from the Regional Administrators’ Advisory Committee (RAAC), identify issues and consider what can be done to enhance the relationship between TransLink and the Mayors’ Council and address concerns regarding how Supplemental Plans are developed.
Mayor Watts also suggested that the October 2009 Comptroller General Ministry of Finance’s Report on Review of Transportation Governance Models is a good starting point for sourcing possible governance changes.
The Mayor’s Council also covered a number of other issues with the Minister with regard to funding and governance, which will be captured in the meeting minutes. However, we communicated clearly to the Minister a sense of urgency that work be conducted as soon as possible in order that action can be taken during the 2012 legislative session.
Finally, the Mayors’ Council passed a motion recommending to the Government of British Columbia that TransLink be included within the mandate of the new Municipal Auditor General’s Office, should such an authority be established.
In closing, I want to thank all of you for the support shown during the past 10 months. We do not agree on every issue, but there has been strong collective support for process, and we are at the table in a meaningful way. The balance between cautious corporate memory and cautious optimism as we negotiate the ‘unique’ paradigm of Metro transportation planning is delicate – but good policy flows from good debate and a shared commitment for the common good.
Good luck on November 19 for those of us still in the fray, and many thanks to our four colleagues stepping away from public life.
Thank You
Mayor Richard Walton
Chair
Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation
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