British Columbia Premier Christy Clark in Victoria, B.C., on Friday August 26, 2011.Darryl Dyck/ The Globe and Mail
Premier Christy Clark is attempting to reassure civic politicians that a proposed municipal auditor-general would not examine their tax rates.
The Union of B.C. Municipalities – which will vote Thursday morning on whether to co-operate with planning the initiative – can't stop the province from setting up the office, no matter what it decides.
But the Premier's hour-long meeting two weeks ago with leaders of the union – a first for B.C. premiers as far as long-time members of the UBCM could remember – made it clear that the Clark government wants to avoid the appearance of marching roughshod over the province's hundreds of civic politicians – a group that former premiers have courted assiduously.
Ms. Clark's efforts were complemented by conciliatory explanations during the week from Community Minister Ida Chong and her deputy.
The two spent much of Tuesday spelling out everything a municipal auditor-general would not do: no interference in land use or council policies, no efforts to push amalgamations, no duplication of existing audits, and, as the Premier had said, no meddling in tax rates or tax policies.
"We want to do things in a respectful and consultative way," Ms. Chong said in an interview with The Globe and Mail. The minister spent the week telling delegates that an auditor-general "is a tool, it's a resource, it enhances accountability."
Ms. Chong got a barrage of criticism during an open session with councillors this week, a reflection of the resentful frame of mind of people who – rightly or wrongly – feel that they more or less donate their time as a community service and already squeeze pennies in the municipal budgets until liquid copper drips.
Robin Cherbo of Nelson said the money for an auditor-general's office could be better spent to help communities replace their aging infrastructure. Garry Litke of Penticton worried that audits would mean already overworked city staff have to take on even more duties.
And Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan got applause when he said that ministry staff are being forced to engage in useless justifications for a "thoughtless campaign promise" by Ms. Clark.
Councillors viewed the auditor-general proposal with suspicion from the start because it appeared to be a response to lobby groups. The B.C. Chamber of Commerce has complained that municipal business-tax rates are unfairly high, while the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says municipal spending has far exceeded inflation.
Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore said the government was sending mixed messages at the beginning about the auditor-general's scope, with more than one statement in media interviews that the office might get involved in tax policy.
Mr. Moore said even he was surprised by the level of animosity in the room this week on the auditor-general issue.
He had thought a Yes vote on co-operation was a given. After Tuesday, he wasn't so sure.
"It could get quite interesting."
Special to The Globe and Mail