MOTION

At the Council meeting of February 20, 2001, Councillor Bass submitted the following Notice of Motion which was recognized by the Chair:

Financial Audit and Review of TransLink File: 5561

WHEREAS, TransLink has proposed a $7 million cut to its 2001 budget, with the majority of the cutbacks - 70 per cent - to public transit and the balance to road building and maintenance;

AND WHEREAS, these public transit cuts will result in a reduction in bus services (of 3.3 per cent) to citizens in Vancouver and throughout the region;

AND WHEREAS, a public transit user who makes 16 one-zone, round-trips per month is now paying an additional $96 annually following last June's fare increase;

AND WHEREAS, TransLink will spend over $60 million on ticket vending machines and electronic fare boxes, and their provisional 2001 budget will see a $21.7 million increase in debt servicing costs;

AND WHEREAS, TransLink is considering the abandonment of all funding of operations and maintenance of SkyTrain's new Millennium line;

AND WHEREAS, following the failure of the vehicle levy, TransLink is now projecting a 2001 budget deficit of $34 million;

AND WHEREAS, the emission of greenhouse gases from vehicles is causing an extreme environmental crisis and thus it is a regional transit authority's prime responsibility to favour public transit;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT, Vancouver City Council, under Section 7 of the GVTA Act, ask the BC Minister Responsible for Transit to request the Auditor General of British Columbia to undertake a full and complete financial audit and review of TransLink.

- - - - -

APPENDIX A: GVTA ACT - Section 7

Financial Administration

(1) The authority must establish and maintain an accounting system in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

(2) All records of account and other financial records respecting funds that the government has provided to the authority or to its subsidiaries must be open at all times for inspection by the Auditor General and the Comptroller General.

(3) As soon as possible, but within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year of the authority, the authority must prepare (a) an annual report of the operations of the authority and its
subsidiaries for the preceding fiscal year, and (b) audited financial statements of the authority and its subsidiaries for the preceding fiscal year.

(4) The fiscal year end of the authority is December 31.

(5) The Financial Information Act applies to the authority as if it were a corporation within the meaning of that Act.

(6) The authority must adopt an annual budget on or before March 31 of the fiscal year to which the budget applies.

(7) Each annual budget adopted under subsection (6) must (a) set out all of the revenues that the authority anticipates it will receive in the fiscal year and all accumulated surpluses from previous fiscal years, (b) set out all of the operating expenditures that the authority anticipates it will incur in the fiscal year, the total amount of which must not be greater than the total amount of the revenues and accumulated surpluses referred to in paragraph (a), and (c) include, as one of the operating expenditures set out under paragraph (b), any deficit that was incurred in the previous fiscal year.

* * * * *

(c) 1998 City of Vancouver